Transit authorities are really being hammered with lower ridership right now. Now's the time to get rid of all the friction that prevents usage, like requiring bespoke payment solutions that need prior preparation.
Well if they looked into why they're at low ridership.. they'd probably see that they're doing a poor job. (In the states)
I can't speak towards other systems but the CTA in chicago is having issues with:
1. Actually keeping a schedule [we've been lied to about wtih them adhering to their frequency schedule they advertisesd]
2. Safety in the trains [people are using the trains to smoke, drink, deface, start fights, and live there]
3. Being reliable. There are times where they just won't run for 20-40 minutes. That makes it hard to want to use it. But they're claiming "oh we don't have enough bus/train drivers" .. yet they haven't been doing anything about it and let people go during the lockdowns.
The ease of payment isn't really a big deal with people who live and depend on these the most. (They're the 80%+ of the ridership)
Or we should be funding transit 100% from taxes because it's infrastructure that everyone benefits from (even drivers, because more transit, less other cars on the road).
You know what would prevent all friction? Making it free and properly funding it from public funding. It's literally one of those things where it doesn't matter who uses it because everyone benefits (if a rich guy gets on it for free, that's still good even though they "could have afforded it").
