Plan for transit riders to pay with mobile app criticized

Port Authority is seeking requests for proposals from vendors to allow riders to pay fares using a cell phone app.

But members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit told the authority board Friday that the specifications for the mobile ticketing app don’t go far enough to deal with inequity problems with the agency’s prepaid ConnectCard. The group met with Port Authority administrators several weeks ago and

thought the agency wouldn’t seek formal proposals for the app until next year.

Laura Wiens of the transit group told the board the specifications don’t address problems that poor people face using transit, such as having to pay higher fares when they use cash, not being able to use the app on low-budget carriers like Cricket, or not having access to information in languages other than English.

Riders paying cash fares also don’t get discounts for weekly or monthly passes and pay separate fares rather than a transfer fee if they need to take two transit rides to get to their destination.

Ms. Wiens said the authority’s decision to proceed with the app without more public input shows riders are “still considered an afterthought at best.” She called on the authority to amend or withdraw the request for proposals.

“Port Authority can do better,” she said.

The authority board never responds to public comments, but after the meeting spokesman Jim Ritchie said there was a “misunderstanding” with the riders’ group on when the request for proposals would be advertised. Seeking proposals isn’t ordinarily a public process, he said, but he believes the agency addressed most of the group’s concerns in the request.

“Almost everything they asked for is in there,” he said.

Ms. Wiens said many of those items are included as possibilities, not requirements.

The group also said the agency should own the system itself rather than license it for three years with an option for two more. In cities that switch providers for mobile apps, usage is low because frequent change confuses passengers, Ms. Wiens said.

In an email statement after the meeting, chief information officer Jeffrey Devlin said licensing is the best way to start.

“In this very fluid area, licensing allows us to be agile and nimble by using the external expertise to build and maintain a mobile application without taxing our internal resources,” he said.

Authority CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman said it is important for the agency to “start test-driving” a mobile app before it begins operating the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland in about two years. That system likely will rely heavily on passengers entering all doors rather than paying at the front of the vehicle and a mobile app would help that process, she said.

“This is more a toe-in-the water” than the final version of the mobile app, she said. “Let’s go for that. Let’s learn from that.”

Ms. Kelleman said she understands the concerns about equity and appreciates the input from Ms. Wiens’ members.

“Believe me, we know the limitations of the Connect Card,” she said.

Ms. Wiens said she doesn’t believe the agency is seeking the best possible app.

“They already issued the request for proposals, and they didn’t solicit input from the stakeholders,” she said. “Why not get it right the first time?”

Ms. Kelleman said the mobile app isn’t a “magic bullet” that will address all equity concerns and the agency is working on other ideas to deal with those.