Desk
Agency IT
Transit agency data modernization, core systems, and procurement.
04entries
On this desk
Explainers
Explainer
What a CAD/AVL system actually does
The box on the bus, the console in the control room, and the one message that leaves the building. We polled 92 open US vehicle-position feeds to see what a location report really carries and how old it is.
Report
Open-loop tap-to-pay: what happens between the tap and the charge
The gate opens before anyone has checked whether the card works. Here is the back office behind contactless transit fares: deny lists, aggregation, deferred authorization, and why most 2026 launches shipped at adult full fare only.
Roundup
July 2026 roundup: open-loop fares, the NTD's new rules, and MDS 2.1
What moved on the transportation data layer from mid-June to mid-July 2026: World Cup open-loop fare launches, new National Transit Database reporting rules, MDS 2.1 in preview, and AI landing in agency software.
Explainer
Fare payment modernization: account-based ticketing, fare capping, open-loop
Agencies are moving fare logic off the card and into a back office. Here is what account-based ticketing, fare capping, and open-loop payment each mean, and which agencies have made the switch.