MBTA reaches $10 million in sales for mobile ticket app

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) mobile ticketing system has registered $10 million in sales since it was launched systemwide in November 2012.

More than 1 million tickets have been sold using the mTicket smartphone application, representing 15 percent of all non-corporate commuter-rail ticket sales, MBTA officials said in a press release.

The app improves service and convenience for rail riders and helps the agency with revenue collection, said MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott.

"We are still early in the effort, but we are saving thousands of dollars by not installing costly, static vending machines, saving on ticket production and eliminating cash transactions — all while making riders commutes easier," she said.

Developed by Masabi, the system is the first full smartphone commuter-rail ticketing system in the United States, according to MBTA. Riders can use the MBTA iPhone and Android mTicket apps to buy tickets, which are displayed on the phone's screen as an encrypted barcode and as a readable ticket.

The MBTA's work on its mobile ticketing system will be recognized this fall at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers' annual conference, where MBTA Chief Information Officer Gary Foster and Deputy Director of Fare Systems Robert Creedon will accept the Digital Government to Citizen Award.