Guide: An Overview of the Tool
What is it?
A universal fare card enables transit passengers to use just one card to access many or all forms of transportation in a selected region. Instead of requiring a transit passenger to pay the exact cash fare or to keep track of different tokens, transfers, and/or monthly passes for different transit systems, this new technology allows passengers to use a durable small plastic card (the size of a credit card) to pay the fare for any transit system in the region simply by swiping, touching, or waving the card near a receiver that 'reads' an electronic signal from the card and automatically deducts the correct fare. (To get an idea of how a universal fare card works, check out the San Francisco Bay Area's TransLink card and receiver in the picture below.) Once equipped with the necessary readers, all forms of transportation in the region can be paid for using this same technology, including not just the buses and trains of multiple transit systems, but also taxis, ferries, car sharing and bike sharing programs, toll charges for congestion pricing programs and HOT lanes on freeways, and market-rate prices for parking (both publicly- and privately-owned facilities).
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San Francisco Bay Area's TransLink reader and smart card. (Source:
TransLink).
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Why use it? Using smart card technology to implement a universal fare card system where you live can provide numerous benefits for commuters, employers, and transit agencies throughout the region. Of course, the benefits of a particular universal fare card system will vary depending on the available technology and how that technology is implemented. In fact, each of the universal fare card systems currently in use throughout the world differ somewhat depending on the region's proposed budget for implementing the project and the unique customer needs that the project is designed to meet. (Jump to the
'Who Else is Doing
It?' section to see how different combinations of smart cards and transit are being used in three key US cities.) Transit customers, their employers, and transit providers and agencies benefit from many of the universal fare card features.
Benefits to customers:
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Better transit experience. Universal fare cards can improve customers' experience of public transportation. When used on all modes of different transit systems, smart cards can eliminate the need for transfers, passes, and multiple fare cards. Using only one card means that customers no longer need to fumble around looking for the correct pass or exact change before getting on a bus or train. This not only frees customers from the annoyance of searching through purses or pockets, it also helps the system run on time since customers can get on and off transit vehicles more quickly
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"It may not seem like much, but saving a few seconds per passenger adds up to significant efficiency improvements, particularly at crowded rush-hour bus stops, where long boarding times knock buses off schedule and result in bus bunching" -John Hilkevitch in
"Getting Around: CTA to Offer Fare Card with Payment
Options" column in The Chicago Tribune (9/26/03)."
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Greater payment convenience. When the value on universal fare cards drops too low, they can simply be 'recharged' at vending machines that are usually located at bus stops, transit stations, or local stores. Some programs offer the added convenience of paying over the Internet or using a debit or credit card to reload the value automatically.
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Replicability reduces customer loss. Unlike transit tokens, passes, or even cash, universal fare cards are replaceable once owners register them. (Registration is completely optional on all systems currently using universal fare cards; however, only registered cards can be replaced). Once a loss is reported, the card is immediately 'blocked' and becomes unusable. A replacement card is sent out with the remaining value from the lost card minus the cost of a new card (usually $5). The information needed to register a fare card varies depending on the transit provider. For instance, the
Chicago Transit Authority
(CTA) only requires your first and last name to register their
Chicago Card
while the Washington (DC) Metro Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) requires your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number for their
SmarTrip
Card.
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Benefits to transit agencies:
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Service integration with agency independence. Universal fare cards can provide seamless service integration from a customer's point of view yet allow each transit agency in the region to retain its independence. For instance in the San Francisco Bay Area, over 20 independent companies operate modes of transportation that frequently overlap in their areas of service. The new universal fare card program,
TransLink,
will enable transit riders to use one card yet pay each transit provider the correct fare. (For more information about how the San Francisco TransLink project works, jump to the
'Who Else is Doing
It?' section.)
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Better knowledge of ridership patterns and customer needs. Universal fare cards provide more accurate information about ridership
patterns to transit providers, elected
officials, and transit advocates. This
knowledge can improve routing and
scheduling decisions as well as illuminate
other aspects of transit customers'
service needs throughout the region.
(Existing constitutional guaranteed
privacy protections will protect fare card
users' privacy and the security of any
data collected, as discussed in the
Privacy issues section of
'Is This the Right Tool for
You?' .)
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Increased fare and advertising revenue. After the initial set-up costs, transit agencies will be able to realize increased revenue through decreased fare evasion and available advertising space on the smart card.
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Decreased administrative costs. Universal fare cards can allow agencies to engage in cost sharing in order to utilize economies of scale. By merging some administrative functions associated with fare collection and sales of tokens and passes, transit agencies will be able to decrease their costs.
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Added security. Bus drivers, train conductors, ferry operators, and passengers will need to carry less cash, thus reducing the risk of theft or assault.
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Benefits to employers:
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Lower administrative costs. If employers offer commuting benefits to their employees, they can minimize their administrative costs by directly linking their employees' payroll deduction to recharge their universal fare cards. Currently, Washington DC offers a SmartBenefits program that links their universal fare card, SmarTrip, with commuter benefits (jump to the
'Who Else is Doing
It?' section for more information).
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Reduced parking costs. Because universal fare cards make transit more convenient, employers who encourage their employees to use the cards to take transit to work can potentially save money through reduced costs for building or leasing parking spaces for their employees (see
Parking Cash Out
for more information). |
As the above list illustrates, implementing smart card technology with a universal fare card payment system among all the transit providers in your region has enormous potential benefits. In fact, smart cards are not just limited to use on transit systems: they can also be enhanced to allow users to make other small purchases such as coffee or bagels on the way to work. For example, the
get>>in Card
in Hanau, Germany utilizes this enhanced functionality on their universal fare card. Cardholders can pay for admission to public swimming pools, theaters, and museums all with the exact same card used for a ride on public transportation!
How does it work? To begin using a universal fare card, transit passengers simply pay a small one-time fee for the card (usually $5) and then add value to the card with cash or a credit card. Some programs even offer the first card for free and only charge for a replacement card. The card works either by swiping or touching the card to a receiver at the farebox of a bus or at the fare gate at a train station or by simply waving the card in the vicinity of the receiver to transmit an electronic signal that the passenger has entered or exited the transit system and that the fare has been paid.
For 'distance-based' fares, the card logs the
passenger's starting and ending point and then
deducts the correct fare when the passengers
leave the system. For 'flat' fares (i.e. the
same fare is charged regardless of distance
traveled), the card deducts the standard amount
for a single ride based on the passenger's
status (regular, youth, senior, etc). For an
unlimited monthly pass, the card indicates that
the rider has paid the fare, yet does not deduct
from the card's value. When the value on the
card drops below a certain value, the user
simply 'recharges' the same card by adding value
over the Internet or at vending machines
(usually located in train stations, local
stores, and even on buses). For even greater
convenience, users can arrange for the cards to
be automatically recharged at regular weekly or
monthly intervals via their banking account or
credit card. |
