Public transportation agencies around the world have found a strong use case for contactless cards, which speed passenger flow by eliminating time-consuming cash transactions and friction around kiosks for reloading passes. In key global markets including China, Japan, Russia and the U.K., public transit agency adoption of contactless payments has accelerated contactless card issuance and usage, experts assert.In London, contactless payment cards or mobile devices account for half of all subway and train journeys, according to Transport for London. This summer, London riders using contactless cards gained the ability to view their journey history and check payments as they go via a mobile app.Several major U.S. cities’ transit agencies are in the process of adopting broad acceptance of contactless cards. Portland, Ore.’s TriMet recently switched on open-loop contactless card support for its new Hop Fastpass system, and demand far exceeded expectations, according to reports . Chicago completed its upgrade to open-loop contactless card support a couple of years ago, while Boston and New York’s MTA are in the process of phasing in open-loop NFC support over the next few years. Philadelphia will roll out open-loop contactless card acceptance later this year.In Salt Lake City, the Utah Transportation Authority (UTA) recently suspended its support for open-loop contactless cards, nearly a decade after pioneering NFC-based payments for the city’s buses and light rail. The UTA shut down contactless payments in April of this year, explaining on Twitter that less than 1% of riders used NFC-based payments and it was too costly to support. The agency was unavailable to comment on future plans.“Salt Lake City is an outlier, because there’s no doubt contactless payment support is coming to all the major cities in the U.S.,” said Peter Quadagno, CEO of Quadagno & Assoc., an industry consultant for prepaid and transit payment systems. Salt Lake City’s transit agency was beset by other priorities and will return to supporting contactless payments, he predicts.“Utah was way out in front of the pack experimenting with contactless, and they’ll regroup, but it’s not surprising that some transit agencies have struggled with this because they’re in the business of moving people, not finances, so payments technology often needs a champion,” Quadagno said.