Welcome to Universal Ticketing Agent

What UniTiAg Is

UniTiAg is a global, cloud-based SaaS infrastructure designed to revolutionize open-loop public transit fare collection. It seamlessly integrates with existing transit fare collection (ABT) systems and online marketplaces (TSMP) — platforms that sell transit services.

UniTiAg allows riders to tap their contactless cards and gain access to transit services using a virtual balance (OTRB) without initiating a payment transaction at the transit validator, effectively selling the service as it is provided rather than by selling tickets in advance.

This approach reduces compliance costs and enhances the overall user experience for transit agencies, their customers, and marketplaces worldwide.

What UniTiAg Does

Imagine you want to use your contactless Visa, Mastercard, or other credit or debit card to gain access to public transit. This card is already registered as your payment method on your Amazon (Walmart, Facebook, etc.) account*.

  • Using the Amazon app or website, you purchase an Open-To-Ride Balance (OTRB) associated with this card. This is a money value you allocate for spending on public transit rides. Your OTRB is shared across all participating TAs.
  • A few minutes later, you can tap this card at any validator with the Amazon Pay logo.
  • When your OTRB drops below a certain threshold level, which you set, it is automatically replenished by Amazon.
  • When you no longer need the OTRB, Amazon refunds the amount to your card or bank account.

In summary, UniTiAg facilitates fare payments through riders’ OTRB, enabling Transit Agencies to collect fares for services that they have provided, via a common TSMP infrastructure.

*The names of marketplaces (TSMP) are used here purely as examples and do not imply that these organizations participate in the UniTiAg fare collection scheme.

Audience

This site introduces UniTiAg, an innovative open-loop ticketing solution and SaaS platform. This site is designed for executives, business development managers, product managers, business analysts, software developers and testers from:

  • Transit operators or agencies (TAs). TA executives should read this page first: Closed Loop for Transit Execs
  • Two-Sided Marketplaces (TSMPs)
  • Ticketing system vendors providing software, hardware, and services to TAs.

The site highlights the key benefits of UniTiAg and provides implementation guidance for these stakeholders.

Value Proposition for Two-Sided Marketplaces

By integrating the UniTiAg platform, you will:

  • Acquire additional online shoppers (transit riders): Expand your customer base by offering access to transit services through your online marketplace.
  • Acquire additional online sellers (TAs): Onboard TAs as sellers, offering their services via your marketplace.
  • Increase float: Utilize the funds generated from prepaid OTRBs that haven’t been reconciled yet.

Explore our TSMP mockup, AmuzeBuy to see how your TSMP can expand into transit services.

Value Proposition for Ticketing System Vendors

By integrating the UniTiAg platform, you will increase sales of your systems and services, because you will:

  • Provide more efficient open-loop solutions for Transit Agencies (see Value Proposition for TAs below).
  • Provide a seamless transition from closed-loop and classic open-loop models to UniTiAg model, allowing TAs to continue using their existing validation devices and fare policies.

Explore our TSMP mockup, AmuzeBuy, our validator mockup, and try our simple APIs, to discover how you can offer even better services to your TA-customers.

Value Proposition for Transit Agencies

By integrating the UniTiAg platform with your ABT systems, you will:

  • Reduce the cost of fare collection in open-loop ticketing.
  • Accelerate time to market.
  • Reduce or eliminate the closed-loop cards (presto, Oyster, etc.).
  • Include underbanked and unbanked customers.
  • Satisfy your municipal constituency.

Many Transit Agencies (TAs) are piloting open-loop ABT or AFC systems to reduce cash management costs and simplify access to services. However, these projects often face low adoption rates and high implementation costs. Implementing traditional open-loop systems can be costly, especially for mid-size and smaller TAs.

UniTiAg provides a cost-effective solution for TAs and their ticketing system vendors, shifting from card-present to e-commerce transactions, reducing PCI DSS and payment schemes compliance burdens, and streamlining processes. This allows TAs to maintain their fare policies while lowering the complexity and expense of open-loop systems.

Open-To-Ride Balance

UniTiAg’s core concept is the Open-to-Ride Balance (OTRB), a balance linked to a contactless card or token, shared among participating Transit Agencies (TAs). UniTiAg synchronizes OTRB updates in near real-time, ensuring all TAs reflect changes when funds are used.

The OTRB can be pre-authorized, prepaid, postpaid, or a combination, based on creditworthiness, card type, and TSMP’s risk management policies. Once an OTRB is created, customers can tap their contactless card at any participating TA for seamless access to transit services.

With UniTiAg, Transit Agencies are no longer traditional brick-and-mortar merchants. The card tap is no longer a card-present payment transaction but rather a method of registration of a service paid through the TSMP.

AmuzeBuy and Sandbox Environment

AmuzeBuy is a TSMP mockup showcasing the user experience that any TSMP can provide by implementing the UniTiAg TSMP API. Create a shopper/rider account, set up payment methods, manage OTRBs, and simulate card taps with our validator mockup.

AmuzeBuy runs on the UniTiAg Sandbox environment.

  • Open-Loop Ticketing software developers: contact us for access to the UniTiAg Sandbox to integrate your ticketing system using our  TA and TANB APIs.
  • TSMP developers: contact us for access to our fare validator and TA simulator to test your integration with UniTiAg using our TSMP API.

Next to watch and read

Closed Loop for Transit Execs

UniTiAg architecture

UniTiAg vs classic open loop: pros and cons

Watch videos on our YouTube channel Universal Ticketing Agent