Can tap-to-pay save public transportation?

"I vividly remember the first time I used my phone to ride the New York City subway. I tapped my device against the translucent rectangle thing, the light turned green, and the turnstile made a familiar click inviting me to push through the metal arms. On the other side, the future beckoned. After a two-decade run as New York's preeminent pass to the subway, the MetroCard has officially joined the brass token in the annals of subway history."

"New Yorkers have been living with the tap-to-ride OMNY system for a few years now, but other cities are still getting up to speed. Last month, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) became the latest to introduce a tap-to-pay fare payment system, joining New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Juan, and Washington, DC, as cities with open-loop NFC fare readers. Many cities, like London, have had tap-to-pay transit systems for years or even decades, while others still fumble with card swipes."

Cities are increasingly adopting open-loop, NFC-based tap-to-pay systems to modernize transit fare collection. New York's MetroCard era is ending as the MTA phases out the iconic plastic cards while OMNY enables payment via NFC credit cards and mobile wallets. BART recently introduced a tap-to-pay system, joining New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Juan, and Washington, DC in deploying open-loop fare readers. London and other cities have operated tap-to-pay transit for years or decades. Other systems still rely on card swipes. These transitions aim to improve convenience, speed, interoperability, and revenue collection for transit systems.

Read at The Verge