farebox

A farebox is a device used by public transit systems to collect rider fares. Mounted on vehicles or at stations, it accepts coins, banknotes, tickets, stored-value cards, or contactless payments, and it records transactions for reconciliation with a central fare-management system.

Traditional fareboxes were coin-operated units on buses, printing simple receipts. Modern fareboxes are multi-payment devices that may include coin mechanisms, bill validators, smart-card readers, ticket printers, and NFC or RFID readers for contactless payments and mobile wallets.

Historically, fare collection progressed from mechanical coin drops to magnetic-ticketing, then smart cards in the 1990s and 2000s. In recent decades, contactless card payments and mobile wallets have become common as part of broader automated fare-collection AFC systems.

The farebox records transactions, updates stored balances, issues tickets or passes, and transmits data to the central AFC system for accounting and ridership analysis. Some units support remote monitoring and tamper alerts. They may also contribute to revenue reporting and system-wide fare policy enforcement.

Deployment and maintenance: Fareboxes are typically installed on buses or at fare gates and kiosks. They require regular maintenance of coin mechanisms and validators and are subject to wear, jams, vandalism, and calibration needs. Accessibility features are often included to accommodate riders with disabilities.