Mass Transit - 10

PEOPLE & PLACES

THE LASTEST INDUSTRY NEWS
Apple Pay coming to select US
transit agencies later this year
▶ Your

City of Ottawa, Ontario

PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS and transit representatives gathered at an event
committing funds to the Stage 2 LRT project.

Ottawa's Stage 2 LRT receives billiondollar provincial backing
The provincial government of Ontario, Canada has committed up to
C$1.208 billion (US$900 million) in funding to Ottawa's Stage 2 Light
Rail Transit (LRT) project. On March 6, the Ottawa City Council approved
the Stage 2 LRT project, which is an ambitious plan to expand the O-Train
network in order to bring 77 percent of the city's population within five
kilometers (3.1 miles) of rail.
The network will see 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) of rail and 24 new stations
added to the south, east and west. The expansions will be completed in
phases with the Trillium Line south extension scheduled for completion in
2022, and the Confederation Line east and west extensions are scheduled
for completion in 2024 and 2025.
MassTransitmag.com/21073213

L.A. Metro celebrates completion
of the Southwestern Yard
▶ The

Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) celebrated the completion of Southwestern
Yard with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The $172-million facility, which will
serve the future Crenshaw/LAX Line and
Metro Green Line, was designed and constructed to attain LEED Silver Certification.
The "green" features include pollution
reducing construction processes, easy
access to public transportation for workers, treatment of stormwater runoff and
the use of low-emitting paints, sealants,
coatings and materials. There is also en-

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ergy-saving lighting and air conditioning.
Hensel Phelps Herzog (HPH) designed and built Southwestern Yard with
design work beginning in June 2015,
construction in May 2016 and work
completed in January 2019 with the
project on time and on budget.
L.A. Metro explained that its Southwestern Yard, the Airport Metro Connector/96th Street Station, the Automated
People Mover and the Aviation/Century
Station will become the gateway to LAX
for travelers and will provide better and
equitable access to employment centers
in this area.
MassTransitmag.com/21074765

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | APRIL/MAY 2019

phone or your watch may be all
you need to pay a transit fare in New York
City, Chicago and Portland later this year
with news that Apple is bringing its Apple
Pay feature to the select transit systems
in the United States.
Apple Pay is used by several global transit systems including several
locations in China, Russia, all of Japan's
transit that accept Suica and Transport
for London.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
will be one of the first U.S. transit agencies to debut the Apple Pay function
through its Ventra Card, which can be
used on CTA buses or trains and the
area's Pace suburban bus service.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and
CTA President Dorval Carter released a
statement, "Chicago is proud to work
with Apple to elevate the experience of
CTA riders. New Ventra Cards on iPhone
will build on the strength of the existing
Ventra system to make commuting in
Chicago even easier and more convenient and help modernize America's second largest mass transit system for the
21st century. When one of the world's
most inventive cities teams up with one
of the world's most innovative companies, great things happen.
An iPhone-compatible Hop card is
also planned for TriMet's service area, as
is an iPhone-friendly fare for New York
City Transit.
MassTransitmag.com/21073395

CTA, city of Chicago open new
Belmont Transit Center
▶ The

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
has completed the $17-million Belmont
Blue Gateway project, which is part of
its $492-million Your New Blue program
to modernize and improve the O'Hare
branch of the Blue Line.
It is the largest project that has been
completed to date as part of the program and the modernization of the station represents the first major renovation
to the facility since it opened nearly 50
years ago. The Belmont Transit Center
serves nearly 1.8 million entries to the
Blue Line and provides connections to
heavily traveled bus routes.
One of the most eye-catching elements of the project is the new architectural steel canopy. CTA notes that the
canopy creates a community gateway for
the station and local neighborhood, while
also visually enhancing the street-level
entrance to the subway station.
MassTransitmag.com/21074134

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