Suburban rail riders now have one more excuse to play with their smartphones during morning and evening commutes.
Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuters will be able to purchase train tickets and display them on their phones or tablets using a new app, according to an announcement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Conductors won”™t be using their trusty hole punches but rather a handheld device to scan the virtual ticket display, the MTA said. The announcement came Monday, the same day new Metro-North president Joseph Giuletti announced new schedules that would reduce the ride time for commuters into Grand Central Terminal.
“We want to make riding train as easy and convenient as we can,” Giuletti said. The president said real-time status updates are already available for mobile users and that virtual ticketing is the next step into the digital age.
The MTA board approved the contract for the app with Masabi L.L.C. on Wednesday. Wasabi was chosen out of 11 companies that proposed supplying a virtual-ticketing application, the Metro-North press office said. Masabi is launching similar programs in Boston, San Diego and for the NICE Bus on Long Island.
