The city of Rocky Mount’s Tar River Transit has partnered with Modeshift to announce Ride TRT, a new contactless fare collection system for transit riders. The new system will be available July 1, 2025 on a majority of the transit fleet, marking a major step forward for the fixed-route bus system.

“This launch of Ride TRT is a significant milestone in modernizing public transit in Rocky Mount,” said City Manager Elton Daniels. “By allowing riders to pay with a smartphone or reloadable smart card, we’re making Tar River Transit more convenient, more efficient and better aligned with the needs of today’s passengers.”

Modeshift is a leading provider of contactless fare collection systems. The account-based fare collection system will empower Ride TRT with real-time data insights and enable cashless options for faster boarding.

“With Tar River Transit joining our growing network of transit partners, we’re thrilled to bring digital fare solutions to Rocky Mount,” said Miroslav Katsarov, CEO of Modeshift. “Our goal is to empower agencies like TRT with scalable tools that serve both riders and transit staff, ultimately creating a more inclusive and sustainable transportation ecosystem.”

Key Features of the New Fare Collection System:

• Mobile Ticketing: Riders will be able to plan, purchase, and validate trips using their smartphones via TRT’s free app, which will be available for iOS and Android.
• Smart Cards: Reloadable fare cards will be available for those without mobile devices, providing a convenient option to pay and ride.
• Web Portal: Riders will also have access to online trip planning, fare purchases and account management from any internet-connected device.
• Smart Pay Accounts: Passengers can create personalized profiles to manage favorite routes, view transaction history and reload passes easily.• Data-Driven Insights: The digital platform will equip TRT with valuable data to optimize routes, improve decision-making and deliver a more responsive transit system.
• Automated Vehicle Locator Capabilities: Riders will have the ability to track vehicles in real-time utilizing TRT’s free app, which will be available for download on iOS and Android.

“Ride TRT will give our riders access to more convenient, flexible and modern tools to navigate our city's transit system,” said Todd Gardner, Tar River Transit Administrator. “By streamlining our fare collection process, we will improve the rider experience and build more efficient operations behind the scenes.”

Ride TRT will focus on TRT’s fixed route buses, giving riders easier ways to plan trips, buy tickets and board using a smartphone or a reloadable smart card.

To learn more about the Tar River Transit partnership and other initiatives, visit www.modeshift.com.

About Modeshift

Modeshift, Inc. is a technology company that helps transit agencies modernize their user-facing technology and the underlying infrastructure to improve efficiency, increase ridership and provide adequate, sustainability-oriented service. It is the only all-in-one digital mobility infrastructure platform that also gives the transit industry the tools to reduce their carbon emissions and aim for sustainability.

Our core product is Account-based Fare Collection System, based on the Microsoft Azure cloud and delivered as a service (Software as a Service – SaaS). Modeshift also provides other subsystems which complete the stack of hardware and software needed to operate a modern transit system such as Mobile ticketing, AVL/CAD and real-time passenger information.

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“Our goal is to empower agencies like TRT with scalable tools that serve both riders and transit staff, ultimately creating a more inclusive and sustainable transportation ecosystem.” – Miroslav Katsarov, CEO of Modeshift