[Symbiote]

In London you can use a normal contactless debit or credit card or NFC payment on a phone for public transport. This is great for Londoners, and even better for visitors who don't need to figure out what they need to buy or how to top up a card.

I don't belive the ticket apps being discussed keep a balance, but I haven't used them myself.

[brewdad]

NYC really needs to get the tap to pay working for AirTrain at JFK. I’m not even mad about the ridiculous $8 fare (though that’s another issue) it’s the having to stand in line to purchase a paper card that I won’t use again until I return to the airport to go home.

[londons_explore]

Contactless debit cards from a bunch of countries aren't accepted on london underground. That makes it less good for visitors. They don't even publish a list - just some will refuse to work, and you have no way to know as a visitor till you try it.

For even more confusion, some contactless debit cards won't work the first time, but if you try them 5 mins later (presumably after the main office has done a test charge on the card), it then works fine.

[brw]

I believe that since February 1st (so 4 days ago) you can also use contactless debit and credit cards for train travel throughout the entirety of the Netherlands. I think that most if not all regional public transport providers, for say bus/tram/metro, already support it as well.

Can't use it when you have a subscription though, so a lot of people here will still be using their plastic public transport cards for personal and work travels, including me, but it's nice to have the possibility at least.

https://ovpay.nl/en

[andrewshadura]

Still OV-chipkaart is useful as it allows you to take OV-fiets.

[AmericanChopper]

I’ve seen that system in quite a few cities now. I’m was initially surprised to see it adopted, because breakage revenue can be enormous. But it’s common enough now that I find places using exclusively the old stored value cards to be outright contemptible.

[metadat]

Think about it from their shoes. Why would you actively spend resources to replace an existing "working" system to develop and implement a new and more efficient system which nets you less resources?

[antipotoad]

One reason could be to enable novel fare systems, like London has with its Oyster network.

You can travel around (scanning your contactless debit / credit card) without thinking about how much you’re paying, safe in the knowledge that the system caps your daily / weekly spend to predefined limits, essentially making it never more expensive than a daily / weekly travel card would be. The caps are automatically calculated for the zones you travel in.

It’s a very nice experience as a rider. Especially beneficial to visitors who can just scan through the gates as any Londoner would, no ticket purchase required.

As for the rationale to implement such a system — well, it’s ultimately a public service. All revenue generated is reinvested into the network, in London at least. The economic value of a fast, efficient, painless transit system that everyone uses, regardless of class or wealth, most surely outweighs any lost breakage revenue.