Bus passengers may buy tickets with the mobile app Token Transit beginning in November.
This low-tech pilot program is a fast way for CARTA to offer diverse ways to pay without rushing to install new fare boxes, which will come later as CARTA rebuilds the foundations of its fare collection.
“This is going to make a lot of people really happy,” said board member Corey Evatt.
Mobile tickets will be accepted on fixed routes, Care-A-Van and Carta GO.
Director of Procurement, Grants and Technology Annie Powell said CARTA expects 15 percent of its ridership to participate in the pilot, which will last one year and will cost $26,000.
Riders set up their own accounts on Token Transit, which integrates with Cash App, a necessity for CARTA’s many “unbanked” riders, said CEO Charles Frazier.
Bus drivers will check mobile tickets with a glance.
CARTA is exploring a partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to host mobile libraries on CARTA buses.
CARTA is in talks with Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, the neighborhood of St. Elmo and the City of Chattanooga to explore development ideas for three acres at the Incline Railway’s base station, which may include retail and affordable housing.