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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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New TriMet Tickets app includes Lyft, Car2Go tie-in

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PORTLAND — A new version of the TriMet Tickets app launched Wednesday — in a bumpy rollout — will for the first time give riders non-TriMet options for making their trip.

The TriMet Tickets app is developed by Moovel, the result of a merger between Portland-based Globe Sherpa and RideScout of Austin, Texas. Both companies are owned by carmaker Daimler A.G.

The newest version lets users book a ride through the ride-hailing app Lyft or reserve a rental through Car2Go, the carsharing service also owned by Daimler.

“One of the things we’re trying to solve are the first and last mile,” said TriMet spokesman J.C. Vannatta. “These are people we can’t serve, financially. We wanted to provide other ride options that work really closely in synch with transit.”

The app uses a software toolkit called RideTap that integrates transportation providers into other apps. It’s the first time it’s been used in a public transit agency’s app.

Users who select “More Rides Nearby” will be presented with lists of nearby Lyft drivers and Car2Go cars. Upon selecting one, users will be taken to the Lyft or Car2Go reservation page, if they already have the corresponding app installed. If not, they’ll be taken to their iPhone or Android phone’s app store to install it.

Moovel said the new features were unrelated to a bug that caused iPhone users’ previously purchased tickets to vanish when the app updated. It said a patch had been sent to the iTunes store for review, and that the company had requested Apple complete an expedited review.

It’s likely other transportation options will be added in the future. Portland’s Biketown bike-share system would seem a natural fit, though Moovel said it can’t say whether that’s in the offing.

“They’re definitely on our radar,” said Meredith Schulz, a Moovel spokeswoman.

TriMet, which pays Moovel a share of revenue from fares purchased through the app, won’t pay extra to have the other transportation options included, nor will it get a piece of any revenue generated from the app.

Moovel says it hasn’t yet figured out how it will make money from the software, which it hopes other developers will build into their apps.

The update brings other long-sought improvements. Notably, it will now open to the “My Tickets” screen if the user has tickets available. Earlier versions opened to the “Buy Tickets” screen by default.

One feature that would have been useful Wednesday won’t arrive until June. It will allow signed-in users to retrieve already-purchased tickets that, because of switching to a new phone or performing a software reset, are no longer stored locally. Users currently have to contact customer support to retrieve lost tickets in those cases.

Eventually, Vannatta said, the tickets app could be folded into TriMet’s forthcoming electronic fare system, Hop Fastpass, allowing users to tap their phone to pay their fare.

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