Increase In Credit Card Use Boosts Boardwalk Tram Revenue

OCEAN CITY — Thanks in large part to the opportunity for riders to use credit cards at the point of sale, the Boardwalk tram has already blown past its revenue projections for fiscal year 2017 with two solid months of summer remaining on the front end of next season.

Through much of last winter, the Public Works’ transportation department began exploring the use of credit cards for mid-Boardwalk pick-ups in the interest of increasing revenue and improving the customer experience. Credit cards could always be used at the terminals on either end of the Boardwalk, but for customers picking up the tram mid-trip somewhere along the Boardwalk, it had been strictly cash and carry.

This year, however, Boardwalk tram staffers began carrying hand-held credit and debit card approval devices allowing customers to board mid-trip and simply swipe their cards without digging around for exact change. On Monday, the Transportation Committee got an update on the results for the first season and the figures were impressive.

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