Metra is looking at ways to let conductors scan tickets on smartphones and will have a better sense of a revamped ticketing system by next fall, the commuter rail agency’s chief said Wednesday.

Metra CEO Alex Clifford told the Regional Transportation Authority that a pilot program next summer will find out which technology is best to transition Metra’s fare into a universal fare system along with Pace and the CTA. But he said smartphone technology seems to be in the cards.