Nassau County bus riders recently got a chance to try out a new system for buying tickets with their smartphones.
Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) buses are expected to become one of the first U.S. bus systems to offer smartphone ticket purchasing with its free GoMobile mobile fare payment app for iPhone and Android when the system launches this summer.
Dozens of NICE bus riders volunteered for 50-minute “beta testing” sessions in which they tried the app on tester phones. These sessions were designed to help NICE refine and finalize the app. Customwers also registered to receive the beta GoMobile app on their phones before the pilot goes live on May 6. Testers will use the app for about one month while providing input and feedback to NICE.
With the new mobile ticketing system, riders will be able to buy bus tickets at any time, and activate them as they board the vehicle. Upon boarding, riders will display to the operator a secure, visually verifiable ticket on their smartphones.
