Biz Briefs: Masabi, Vicinity, and More

Biz Briefs covers the latest in transit/supplier partnerships. In METRO's latest installment, we discuss partnerships in Denver, Canada, and more.

Denver’s RTD Extends Masabi Partnership

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) reached a contract extension to continue its partnership with Masabi.

The Fare Payments-as-a-Service platform, Justride, offers an account-based ticketing solution so that customers can simply tap MyRide smart cards or scan the MyRide app when boarding buses or at a rail station instead of purchasing passes upfront. Fare capping ensures customers pay the lowest fares at daily and monthly limits. This ensures all customers get access to the attractive pricing of period passes.

RTD and Masabi have worked together in a multi-award-winning partnership since 2017 that has delivered several fare payment world-firsts. These innovations are modernizing and enhancing customers’ access to Denver’s public transit network.

Under the terms of the extended agreement, Masabi will continue to provide RTD with its cutting-edge end-to-end fare payment platform, which includes mobile ticketing solutions and fare payment validation to streamline the transit experience for customers and operations for RTD.

Vicinity Lands Canadian Bus Order

Vicinity Motor Corp. received a new purchase order from the Corporation of the Town of Orangeville in Ontario, Canada for two Vicinity Classic buses.

Per the terms of the supply agreement, the Town of Orangeville ordered two of the company's 32-foot clean-diesel Vicinity Classic buses for delivery in 2025.

The Vicinity buses will service the three active transit bus routes throughout the town of Orangeville. Orangeville is a suburb community of roughly 30,000 people in the greater Toronto area.

Triunity to Provide Project Management Support for RTD Project

Triunity, A Lochner Company, has been selected by Denver's RTD for the Project Management Support Consultant contract, overseeing design, construction, repair, renovation, and replacement projects for transit infrastructure throughout the Denver Metro area.

Triunity will serve as an extension of RTD's staff supporting various upcoming projects, including the $152 million, multi-phased project to reconstruct the 30-year-old light-rail track in downtown Denver.

The first of its kind in the agency's history, the project will enhance safety and mobility, address deteriorating transit infrastructure, and prolong the design life of key transportation assets.

The first phase, which begins construction in June of 2024, will concentrate on five at-grade street-running track segments at intersections in the Downtown Loop, including removing and reconstructing all aging rail infrastructure, ties, and ballast. Subsequent phases plan to employ alternative delivery approaches to increase collaboration and enhance project delivery timelines.

ChargePoint, LG Form Strategic Partnership

ChargePoint and LG Electronics (LG) formed a strategic partnership to leverage their respective strengths for future innovations in EV charging.

The first output of this relationship will be commercial charging solutions that encompass ChargePoint’s charger management software and LG’s EV charging hardware, with deliveries expected to begin later this summer.

Future areas of collaboration may include combining ChargePoint EV charging solutions with LG energy storage systems, integration of the LG ThinQ smart home platform with ChargePoint’s Home Flex residential charger, and chargers that leverage LG’s digital-out-of-home advertising platform, among other areas under evaluation.

The companies expect that solutions formed by this strategic partnership will enable a competitive package for public sector infrastructure projects, where determining criteria include high-quality domestic production and elevated information security levels.