In May of 2021, Monterey-Salinas Transit became one of the first public transit agencies in the U.S. to roll-out a contactless, open-loop payment system for fare collection. Along the way, the agency encountered global supply chain issues, cellular network challenges, technology leadership changes, and a switch in vendors. Hear Michael discuss these, as well as the lessons learned; and why making such a fundamental change in the way the public can purchase their fares was absolutely worth the effort.