LIRR considers e-ticket program

The LIRR is considering rolling out an electronic ticket pilot program later this year. Officials say the technology will allow commuters to buy tickets using their smartphone, with a debit or credit

News 12 Staff

Mar 22, 2016, 4:12 AM

Updated 3,103 days ago

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The LIRR is considering rolling out an electronic ticket pilot program later this year.
Officials say the technology will allow commuters to buy tickets using their smartphone, with a debit or credit card. Then they can present their phones to the train conductor for validation.
The transit union had put the brakes on an earlier version of the e-ticket plan, worried that it would replace conductors. With assurances that it won't, the plan is now back on track.
"We are looking forward to a successful pilot program and the full institution of the new ticket program, as already used by our fellow riders in New Jersey," the LIRR Commuter Council said in a statement on Monday.
Some say they are concerned that there might be some glitches along the way, like cellphones dying on board a train, problems proving someone bought a ticket or just a bad connection.
The company designing it is the same one behind the fare-payment system for NICE Bus.