If you use public transportation across countries, you probably noticed how much easier it is to pay with your phone in Europe or Asia than in the US. In part, this may be due to the more limited public transportation infrastructure and use and lower use of contactless payments for non-cash payments (half that of Europe).

But what I learned from talking to Jim Allison, Manager of Planning, Capitol Corridor Joint Power Authority (CCJPA), is that setting up wireless ticketing in the US is extremely complex – more so that, say, in the UK. Jim managed to pull it off and tells us how he did it. It is a fascinating story about how regulation and ecosystem structure exert a power that no amount of technology can match.

I have worked with Jim for a very long time to get Wi-Fi on CCJPA and Amtrak, and we talked about that too. We now take free Wi-Fi on trains almost for granted, but it took some time and effort to get there.

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