Flowbird helps Minneapolis go contactless 

Kerbside kiosks replaced with multi-use terminals to pay for transport and parking services
Mobility as a Service / April 9, 2021
By Ben Spencer
Flowbird Minneapolis Metro Transit bus rapid transit system
Flowbird says payments will be enabled on Metro Transit’s BRT system (© Robert Mullan | Dreamstime.com)

Flowbird has replaced kerbside kiosks in the US city of Minneapolis with 700 CWT touch multi-use terminals, enabling contactless payment technology for transport and parking services. 

Flowbird says the terminals offer citizens a range of payment options, including contactless credit or debit card, or a digital wallet such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

This enables payments for on-and-off street parking in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region and for off-board fare collection for Metro Transit’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the company adds. 

Flowbird's solar-powered terminals are equipped with full-colour touch displays that resemble the look and feel of a tablet. 

The kiosks wirelessly communicate to Flowbird’s analytics platform to help the city analyse urban mobility activity. 

Plans are also underway to deploy Flowbird's ticketing terminals across the city’s Orange line light rail system and its D-Line Bus Rapid Transit network over the next two years.

In 2016, Metro Transit procured the current Flowbird system for off-board fare collection on its A-Line BRT to help quicken boarding times at each station.

The terminals are managed using Flowbird’s cloud-based back office with bank card transactions processed through its ArchiPEL banking solution. 

Transaction and alert information is communicated to the central system in real-time for reporting and maintenance purposes. 
 

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