Driving Toward Sustainable Cities: More sustainable transit starts at the fare

March 25, 2025

Mathias Serre

How smarter payments are helping cities reduce emissions and congestion

This is the seventh blog post in an ongoing series highlighting our commitment to the spirit of sustainable cities – those communities, companies and leaders developing new processes and technologies to address environmental impacts, public safety and transportation demands around the world. 

Cities worldwide are prioritizing sustainability to combat climate change, reduce congestion and improve urban living. Traditional fare collection methods, especially paper tickets and cash-based systems, generate significant environmental waste through paper production, printing and disposal. In recent decades, researchers have begun to learn more about these impacts. Throughout Europe, in countries including France, Spain and Italy, paper tickets are issued frequently, becoming waste after about 1 hour and 15 minutes, leading to significant environmental concerns (pdf).

Similarly, these outdated systems also create accessibility barriers for underbanked and unbanked individuals, those with disabilities and riders who rely on digital convenience, ultimately limiting equitable access to public transit.

Modernizing fare collection through Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) and digital payments offers a pathway to a greener, more inclusive transportation network. By reducing the reliance on paper tickets and plastic cards, ABT systems support sustainability goals while making transit more accessible to all.

The environmental cost of traditional fare collection
Legacy fare collection methods rely heavily on disposable materials, creating significant environmental impacts. Paper tickets, magnetic stripe cards and plastic smartcards require substantial resource consumption.

Paper tickets: The transit industry produces billions of paper tickets annually, contributing to deforestation and landfill waste.
Plastic smartcards: Manufacturing transit cards generates plastic waste and requires energy-intensive production. These cards often have short lifespans, adding to electronic waste.
Fare media disposal: Expired or discarded transit passes often end up in landfills, compounding environmental concerns.

In addition to waste generation, cash-based fare collection increases operational inefficiencies and carbon emissions. Buses and trains that rely on cash transactions experience longer dwell times at stops, leading to increased fuel consumption and higher emissions.

Fare collection challenges for underbanked riders
Traditional fare collection systems can also exclude underbanked and unbanked individuals. According to the Federal Reserve, nearly 19 million U.S. households are underbanked, meaning they have limited access to financial services like credit and debit cards. Many rely on cash for daily expenses, making preloading funds onto transit cards challenging.

Barriers faced by underbanked riders include:

Difficulty accessing reload locations for prepaid transit cards
Inability to use credit or debit cards for mobile or online fare payments
Higher costs due to per-ride cash fares versus discounted digital payments

Digital transformation in fare collection is crucial to addressing these challenges while promoting sustainability.

Account-Based Ticketing (ABT): A sustainable and equitable solution
ABT technology is a game-changer for public transit officials, reducing environmental waste while improving access for all riders. With ABT, passengers can use mobile devices, contactless bank cards or digital wallets to pay for travel without needing physical tickets. This shift delivers multiple benefits:

Reduction in paper and plastic waste
ABT eliminates the need for paper tickets and physical smartcards, cutting down on resource consumption and landfill waste. By implementing digital fare collection, cities can significantly reduce their environmental footprint.
Improved accessibility for underbanked riders
ABT systems support multiple payment methods, including cash-to-digital options, ensuring transit remains accessible to those without traditional banking services. Some cities now allow riders to load cash onto digital transit accounts at retail locations, increasing convenience for underbanked populations.
Enhanced efficiency and reduced emissions
Contactless payments speed up boarding times, reducing vehicle idling at stops and lowering fuel consumption. This efficiency translates to reduced emissions and improved air quality in urban areas.
Seamless multimodal transportation
ABT enables integration with various mobility services, including bike-sharing, ride-hailing and microtransit. A single digital account can facilitate payments across multiple transit options, promoting a holistic approach to sustainable urban mobility.

Conduent’s role in driving sustainable and inclusive mobility
Conduent is at the forefront of modern fare collection, delivering solutions that support both sustainability and equity in transportation. By leveraging ABT, mobile ticketing and intelligent open payment systems, Conduent is helping transit agencies worldwide implement more efficient and eco-friendly fare collection methods.

In 2023, Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropole prepared for major events like the Rugby World Cup and a visit from Pope Francis, requiring seamless public transit for tourists and residents.

To simplify access, President Martine Vassal prioritized making transit easy for visitors unfamiliar with local fares, ticketing or cash requirements. Partnering with Conduent Transportation, the city introduced an Open Payment system, allowing riders to pay with contactless bank cards, smartphones and smartwatches instead of paper tickets. Since 2023, the system has served more than 10 million taps.

After a successful summer trial with 700 travelers on airport buses, the solution expanded across buses, trams, and the metro in time for the Rugby World Cup. More than one million taps occurred in four months, with 30% of occasional travelers using contactless payments. During the England vs. Argentina match, taps surged 400%, with 20% of attendees using Open Payment to reach the stadium.

Conduent’s commitment extends beyond fare collection. In road usage charging (RUC) and transit, we’re advancing policies that encourage environmentally friendly travel behaviors while ensuring that low-income and underbanked riders are not left behind.

The future of sustainable fare collection
Modern fare collection systems are a key component of sustainable urban mobility. By transitioning to ABT and digital payments, cities can reduce waste, lower carbon emissions and improve accessibility for underbanked populations.

As transit agencies and policymakers look for ways to make public transportation more efficient and equitable, Conduent is providing the technology and expertise to make these goals a reality.

Ready to transform your city’s transit system? Contact Conduent to learn more about implementing modern fare collection solutions. For additional insights, visit Conduent.com.