Riding the bus in Saskatoon is about to get easier for residents with smartphones.

Phase one of a new fare payment system beginning with the deployment of a mobile ticketing app is set to start in June.

Riders will be able to purchase tickets and passes from their phones.

In April of 2020 Masabi, a London based company specializing in mobile ticketing services for public transport companies was awarded the contract on a revenue sharing agreement of five years. Phase one will allow riders to use either the Transit Go or Transit App to purchase tickets by scanning on newly installed touchless validators on buses.

A second phase is due to began later in 2021 which will introduce a new smartcard platform for account based ticketing that can be added to online or at Transit vendors.

Saskatoon Transit says all current fare options including cash, existing smart cards and current vendor locations will remain unchanged.