St. Louis Metro Transit
“Can a legacy public transit agency modernize fare infrastructure fast enough to meet the digital payment expectations of modern urban riders while maintaining cash access for unbanked populations?”
St. Louis Metro Transit is the public transit enterprise of the Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District, operating MetroBus, MetroLink light rail, Metro Call-A-Ride, and Via Metro STL paratransit services. The agency has embarked on a multi-year fare modernization initiative under CEO Taulby Roach, moving from legacy fareboxes and ticket vending machines toward mobile ticketing (via Masabi and the Transit app) and a forthcoming Ride On! app featuring Tap & Ride smart card functionality and fare capping. This represents a significant infrastructure shift from cash/paper-based fare collection to a digital-first, account-based fare system.