Customer story — Dayton RTA

Going Cashless Without Leaving Riders Behind

Dayton RTA retired its fareboxes entirely in 2021, becoming the first US agency to go fully cashless onboard.

Agency snapshot

  • 5.75 M Annual ridership
  • 260 Vechicles
  • Bus, Paratransit Transport modes
  • Dayton, OH Location

The challenge

Dayton RTA wanted to speed up its services and improve journey times as part of its post-pandemic recovery, making transit more attractive to new and returning riders. Riders were looking for safer, more convenient ways to pay that did not depend on having exact change for the farebox. The agency also wanted every rider to get the best available fare, including those who could not afford a monthly pass upfront. Any new system had to reach riders across the bus and paratransit network quickly and at a cost the agency could justify, rather than taking years to build from scratch.

Solutions deployed

The solution

Rather than build a bespoke system, Dayton RTA adopted Masabi’s Justride platform  and rolled it out in stages. Mobile ticketing launched first through the Transit app, followed by stored value, onboard validators, and reloadable Tapp Pay smartcards. Fare capping means riders reach the best fare without paying upfront, while ticket vending machines and over 200 retail locations let cash riders top up their accounts, which made retiring the fareboxes possible in November 2021.

Partnership timeline

  1. JUNE 2020

    Tapp Pay mobile ticketing launches via the Justride SDK in the Transit app

  2. DEC 2020

    Cash payment option for mobile tickets and Justride validators installed across the bus fleet

  3. FEB 2021

    Account-Based Ticketing launches for Tapp Pay on mobile

  4. APR 2021

    Tapp Pay smartcards and retail cash network extend ABT to all riders

  5. NOV 2021

    Fareboxes retired, bus fleet goes fully cashless onboard

  6. 2022

    Tapp Pay and Masabi cash digitization win two Transport Ticketing Global Highly Commended Awards

  • 100% adoption of Tapp Pay
  • 4 M+ journeys in first year
  • 200+ retail cash top-up locations

“Traditional transit fare systems have created a situation where customers who are least able to afford the upfront costs of a monthly pass end up paying more, but also end up traveling less by the end of the month. Thanks to our partnership with Masabi, this new fare capping technology solves this, and we are delighted to be able to offer our customers a convenient and contactless method of riding our services.”