Say adieu, nashle, sayonara, or adjö to your SmarTrip cards.
If the U.S. starts to follow the rest of the world, subway riders could soon be using their mobile phones to pay for their transit trips, according to a new report.
British-based Juniper Research estimates that 500 million people worldwide will be using their cell phones to buy bus and subway tickets by 2015.
Already nearly 100 million do so in Japan, Prague, Stockholm and other far-flung locations, Juniper said. But technology is improving to make contactless payments more widespread.
Metro officials have been saying for years that other modes of payment are on the horizon for D.C.-area commuters, too.
Even as more and more riders are using SmarTrip cards, the agency’s supply of them is dwindling, with enough left to last about two years. So something new is needed.
In December, the board of directors began a search for companies to help the agency make the transition.
But they’ve mainly talked about credit cards and debit cards as the next step before going all smartphone on us. Many of Metro’s underground stations still have spotty cell phone service after all – though the transit agency is required to have full coverage up and running systemwide by October 2012.
Note: The original post incorrectly listed the research company as Jupiter, not Juniper Research.
