Portland

Significant accomplishments begin with talented people

Hop Fastpass® – TriMet (Portland, OR)

TriMet in Portland, Oregon has long been an international leader in transit innovation. Hop Fastpass® was a greenfield project, with requirements and design led by CCG’s key staff, which delivered an account-based, open-payment system based on true open architecture. The regional system, with three agencies in Oregon and Washington, accepts MIFARE-based transit cards, contactless EMV payments, mobile wallet (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay) payments, and the world’s first virtual NFC transit card for both Google Pay and Apple Pay wallets. With a robust, integrated financial management system, clearing and settlement are seamless between all three agencies.

In their prior roles, CCG staff oversaw all phases of the Hop Fastpass® system planning, design, testing, and implementation. Since its founding, CCG has continued to support TriMet in the operations and expansion of the Hop Fastpass® system. Supported programs include the launch of paratransit service, redesign of the fare inspection solution, and the integration of additional mobility services as part of an FTA-funded grant.

Various technology projects within Fare Revenue and IT

TriMet (Portland, OR)

CCG is a long-term partner with TriMet. As the core team that designed, developed, implemented, and operated the Hop Fastpass™ system, our relationship with TriMet continues to grow. Since the launch of the Hop system, CCG has supported the agency with numerous projects, including:

• TriMet MOD Sandbox and IMI Grant project
• Fare Inspection Solution Replacement
• Onboard Mobile Access Router (MAR) Replacement

TriMet MOD Sandbox and IMI Grant project

TriMet was recently awarded $1.8M in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support their Integrated Mobility Innovation (IMI) project. This project combines TriMet’s industry-leading efforts to develop a world-class, open-source trip planning platform for shared-use mobility services (Open Trip Planner). Open Trip Planner was developed as part of the Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox initiative, with a Mobility Payment Integration (MPI) platform. The IMI Grand Projects looks to deliver a complete “plan, book, pay” experience based on open-source software and a standardized architecture that can be replicated worldwide. CCG is part of a small team of industry experts, including system integrators, mobile app developers, payment service providers, and transit agency innovators, looking to build on TriMet’s earlier success and expand on the vision of the Open Trip Planner to deliver a full Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform.

CCG is leading efforts to adapt TriMet fare policy to a multi-modal environment, improve equity across the entire customer base, and define the core architecture that will enable the integration of payment functionality into TriMet’s robust trip planning platform. These efforts focus on developing a policy framework and technical approach that can be readily adopted by transit authorities across North America looking to implement MaaS solutions.

Fare Inspection Solution Replacement

TriMet’s fare inspection equipment has reached the end of service life. The equipment is a specialized card reader designed to inspect open payment cards and closed-loop fare media, including closed-loop fare media that exists in the mobile wallet (e.g., a virtual Hop card). This project will replace TriMet’s existing fare inspection solution with a new, comprehensive smartcard reader capable of inspecting their Hop MIFARE-based cards, contactless EMV bank cards, mobile wallets, and account-based closed-loop virtual NFC transit cards within Google Pay and Apple Pay. CCG is responsible for creating the Fare Inspection Replacement Plan, including the procurement approach, needs assessment, and Fare Inspection Request for Proposals.

Onboard Mobile Access Router (MAR) Replacement

TriMet uses a MAR on a revenue service vehicle to provide a communications link from the vehicle’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) equipment to the outside world. It also routes ITS Ethernet traffic within the vehicle. Unfortunately, the agency’s existing MAR has reached the end of life, and the agency leveraged its existing bench contract to hire CCG to support the RFP development. CCG worked closely with TriMet’s IT department to develop system requirements for the onboard equipment and scripting environment. In addition to supporting all onboard ITS equipment, the agency desires that the replacement solution allows the agency to provide passenger Wi-Fi through a separate onboard cellular modem. CCG developed the RFP materials, including evaluation criteria and pricing for the MAR replacement RFP.

Paratransit Payment Integration

TriMet’s paratransit service, LIFT, provides ADA rides to qualified customers within the TriMet service area. These rides often share transfer permissions with fixed-route buses, light rail, and the Portland Streetcar. Due to TriMet’s fare policy changes to accommodate Hop Fastpass™, LIFT was required to integrate with the new AFC system. CCG oversaw the technical integration of the system integrator and paratransit scheduling vendor to provide seamless integration for LIFT customers. This integration allowed LIFT drivers to automatically deduct the fare payment from the rider’s Hop Account by simply performing the ride. CCG led the technical integration, configuration changes, and reporting required by the paratransit scheduling vendor to accommodate the payment integration.