According to a press release on http://www.masstransitmag.com
website the California's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) recently
launched phase I of its TransLink® universal transit fare card program, linking
routes and stations on six of the region's largest transit agencies.
Phase 1 began in February with 4,300 volunteers who frequently use mass transit
being issued with the new TransLink® card. This initial phase of the program
is the seed of a larger plan to eventually link all transit providers in the Bay
area. "The intent behind the entire program is to create a single card that
can be used everywhere. A single point of interface for the customer for their
fare payments and all the customer services relative to fare payments," says
TransLink® project manager Russell Driver
The Phase 1 card works across the routes of six selected agencies: AC Transit,
BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, San Francisco Muni and the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority. "They're six of our largest agencies but only on
a portion of each of their systems," says Driver. "But they do all knit
together to form a network that covers the whole Bay area and does involve every
transit mode that we have here including ferry, diesel bus, light rail vehicle,
heavy subway and the like."
Based on a dual interface smart card with a proximity means of accessing the chip
as well as a contact plate on the side, the TransLink® card works in both
contact and contactless applications and adheres to the fare schedules of all
the participating transit agencies.
MTC has contracted with Motorola Inc. and ERG Ltd. to implement and operate the
system
"That multiplied the complexity of the system design by a huge factor because
all of those fare instruments have their own quirky policies that go with them,"
says Driver. "We've tested transfers that I frankly don't know if more than
half a dozen people use just because there are some strange transfers out there.
But they're important from the point of view that they directly affect the customer."
For more information on the TransLink® card http://www.masstransitmag.com/
