OCEAN CITY, M.d - A cashless payment option is planning on being added to Ocean City’s bus fleet.
The app “Token Transit” will be accepted by the Ocean City bus fleet as a form of payment. Riders would download the app, purchase their digital bus pass, and show their pass to the bus driver.
Transportation Manager Rob Shearman tells WBOC that cash payments will still be accepted, and he says the town hopes to use the off-season as a means to work through the kinks of the new digital system.
“We're really catching up with modern society,” he says. “People don't carry cash as a matter of routine anymore. At least many people don't. It was a matter of convenience. It was just really a huge inconvenience factor for people that pay mostly electronically wherever they go.”
Shearman says the town requested proposals from a variety of different companies to submit how a digital system would work for the town’s bus fleet. He says “Token Transit” was a comfortable fit that meets the town’s needs.
“When you open up that app, it will detect that you're nearby an agency that uses their service,” he says. “So it should be really quick and easy once you open it up to just buy your day pass right there on your phone.”
Marley Creasy rides the bus everyday to her two jobs in town. She says a lot of people don’t carry cash anymore, so this will benefit the town.
“It's been multiple times where I've had to go to an ATM or ask somebody ‘Hey, can I send you this on Cash App and you gave me the money for it’? So, to hear that, it's really cool,” she says.
Seth Mckeehan uses the town’s bus system while on vacation with his family. He says he’s glad the cash option still remains available.
“Sure, I think it's a good idea,” he says. “I'm more of a cash person. I think a lot of people are. But a lot of people are going with cards. So, as long as there's that cash option still, I don't think there's an issue with it.”
Shearman says once the town is officially under contract, it’s expected for the app to be tested on buses in mid to late October. He says the town plans to have this payment option available by next spring.
