75% of US commuters in favour of a contactless payment option – report

According to the survey, nearly two-thirds of US commuters who use cash for mass transit (65 percent) worry about not having enough cash on hand to pay for their trip, while more than one-third (36 percent) have actually been unable to take mass transit because they did not have enough cash on hand. Additionally, more than two in five US commuters (44 percent) have missed a bus, train or subway while waiting in line to buy or add money onto a fare card. Moreover, two-in-five riders who use cash for mass transit (42 percent) say worrying about needing correct change is one of their top frustrations when paying for their commute.

Furthermore, the report has found that, when presented with the option to use a contactless payment option instead of cash on their daily commute, riders were clear in their desire for a better way to pay. Of those who take multiple modes of mass transit each day, three-quarters (75 percent) wish there was one payment card that could be used to access all mass transit systems near or within their local city. Additionally, two thirds of riders (66 percent) say they would be likely to use a Tap & Go form of payment to pay for mass transit if it were an option to them while nearly half of all US commuters (47 percent) say they would use their mobile phone to pay for mass transit.

The survey has also found that reducing transit travel time is high on US commuters’ wish lists. Riders estimate they spend an average of 2.7 hours per work week (32 minutes per day) accessing the mass transit system. However, when asked about the benefits of using a Tap & Go form of payment, riders estimated they could shave nearly an hour a week (an average 11 minutes per day) from their commute.

Moreover, the report has revealed that there are a number of payment frustrations that contribute to current, lengthy transit travel times. Nearly one third of commuters (31 percent) say they feel they spend too much time waiting in line to buy or add money to their fare card, 43 percent feel the ticketing machines are often slow, out of order or difficult to use while more than a quarter of riders (26 percent) are frustrated by the process they must go through to replace a misplaced fare card. Additionally, one fifth of commuters (21 percent) have been frustrated by not knowing where or how to pay in unfamiliar mass transit systems.

Finally, the survey has found that commuters want to consolidate their mass transit tickets into one card that can be used across multiple transit systems with two-thirds of commuters surveyed (66 percent) traveling by more than one mode of mass transit in a typical week and 70 percent having used mass transit in a city other than their own. Nearly as many US commuters consider easier transferring between different types of mass transit (64 percent) and easier payments in unfamiliar stations (65 percent), as major benefits to a Tap & Go payment method. Additionally, more than half of US commuters (59 percent) consider reducing lines and accelerating time through transportation centers as major benefits of Tap-&-Go, open-loop payment options.

The reports titled The MasterCard Transit Survey was conducted on behalf of MasterCard by research firm Harris Interactive.