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Roberts Communications Inc. is in the middle of a six-month pilot program promoting MasterCard Inc.'s PayPass on New York City and New Jersey train, subway and bus routes.
The trial program is meant to link three transit authorities with one rapid payment system. Preparing for the rollout of MasterCard's device took nine months from concept to execution, Roberts officials said.
Roberts has been working with MasterCard for 13 years. This project represents approximately 10 percent of Roberts' MasterCard revenue for the year. MasterCard officials could not be reached to comment on the project.
Approximately nine of Roberts' 75 full-time employees have worked on the pilot.
There were numerous logistical challenges, Roberts president William Murtha said.
The project involved coordinating with three separate transit agencies, each of which, he said, had its own agenda, opinions and legal requirements. Roberts also had to figure out how to make signage visible at turnstiles and on poorly lighted subway platforms.
Another obstacle came from working in a heavily unionized environment, Murtha said. Exacting union contractual stipulations about who could do what aspects of installation and where were a hurdle.
The main objective of the pilot program is to...