Paying and Riding Public Transit in San Diego County Made Simple
Mobile app by Bytemark is leading the way to pay in San Diego
Bytemark announced the release of PRONTO, the new regional fare system collaboration between Bytemark and fare system integrator INIT for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and the North County Transit District (NCTD). To support our partners at INIT, Bytemark developed the card management mobile app, which allows riders to create a new virtual PRONTO card or link an existing physical card, giving users multiple options for leveraging the new account-based fare system.
To further simplify riders’ journeys with full “Plan, Book and Pay” functionality, the new PRONTO app features the embedded Bytemark Navigate journey planner, powered by fellow Siemens Mobility partner, Hacon. The Navigate trip planner allows users to create end-to-end, real-time trip itineraries throughout the region and have their fare automatically calculated, taking the guesswork out of estimating a rider’s trip cost.
Available for both Apple and Android the PRONTO app allows riders to add passes, load funds, view their ticket history and perform several other account management functions. To promote equity and ensure that frequent riders have the option to pay for a pass as they go, the app also supports fare capping.
The benefits of PRONTO and this partnership include:
Payment flexibility through using the mobile app available on Apple and Android phones
Allows riders to save money by using the app to earn the best fare
Free 2-hour transfers are available when using the app or card
“Partnering with MTS and NCTD has been an exhilarating endeavor and their leadership has continued to push our innovation and advancement since Day One–collectively we have brought the best out of each other, and I could not be prouder of the teams,” says Eric Reese, Chief Executive Officer at Bytemark. “With this end-to-end ‘Plan, Book and Pay’ delivery, the Bytemark team continues to expand our position as a global leader in seamless multimodal payment and travel solutions that address the challenges of returning riders back to their home systems. All and all, this is a pretty cool solution.”
“One of our goals with MTS’ new fare system, PRONTO, was to make riding transit more accessible than ever before,” said Sharon Cooney, MTS chief executive officer. “Bytemark’s mobile app solution helped us achieve that goal. We look forward to seeing how MTS can build on this great start and offer even more mobile app functionality for our passengers such as NFC and mobile wallet.”
“One of our goals with MTS’ new fare system, PRONTO, was to make riding transit more accessible than ever before, Bytemark’s mobile app solution helped us achieve that goal.”
