WASHINGTON – Fumbling around for tickets could soon be a thing of the past for Virginia Railway Express riders, as the agency moves to become the first public transit system in the Washington area to bring smartphone ticketing into widespread use.
The commuter rail system sent an email Monday asking for volunteers to test the smartphone ticketing system and the response has been overwhelming, says VRE spokesman Bryan Jungwirth.
The email drew more than 500 responses to an online survey in just the first hour. VRE had only planned to use about 100 riders for the final tests of the iPhone and Android apps, with a roll out to all customers as soon as mid-May.
The app could make boarding trains easier and save VRE money.
“People that use the mobile app will be able to validate the tickets on the platforms before they get onto the train. And this will reduce demand at the paper ticket ticket vending machines as well, so that will decrease costs for us on the maintenance side of the business as well as the back end accounting for ticketing,” Jungwirth says.
In addition to standard single-trip, multi-trip or monthly tickets, riders will also be able to buy Amtrak step-up tickets through the app. Those tickets allow riders to pay an additional charge to take specific Amtrak trains. Amtrak does have its own mobile ticketing system that allows riders to flash a smartphone to a conductor in place of a printed ticket, but that system is separate from the new VRE app.
Jungwirth says the app includes security features and is set up to accept both credit cards and SmartBenefits, a common employee benefit to help cover commuting costs. It has already been tested internally by VRE staff.
The app includes information about service and schedules, any disruptions or delays, and links to other details on the train system’s website. Jungwirth says the app could handle updates like the fare changes that could come this summer.
The system’s board is considering a 4 percent fare hike starting in July that would also raise the price of a step-up ticket by $2.
The final public hearing on the fare increase is set for 7 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers at Fredericksburg City Hall.
“We want to listen to our riders and the public about what they think about the system and ways to improve it, and if they have other ideas to make it more effective and efficient,” Jungwirth says.
“It’s important to hear from the riders about what they’d like to see in the future as well as the effects of a potential fare increase right now,” he adds.
Riders or others interested in VRE who have not been able to attend one of the public hearings can also submit written comments to publiccomment@vre.org. All comments must be submitted by the end of the day Friday.
The deadline was extended to this week because of last week’s snow storm.
