AURORA | Regional Transportation District officials hope that by the end of 2013, passengers won’t be digging through their pockets for change or dollar bills to ride the bus or light rail.
Instead, RTD officials say their new “smart card” program, which launched Jan. 1, will be a more efficient way of paying for public transportation.
As of Jan. 1, the first phase of the new system will allow college students and EcoPass holders to use a small plastic pass the size of a credit card to validate their fare for the bus and light rail.
CollegePass and EcoPass groups will be able to ride public transit by tapping their smart card on a card reader that’s installed on buses and at light rail stations.
The smart card contains an embedded chip that will allow passengers to electronically load and manage RTD passes and fares.
It can also instantly process information to the reader, allowing the reader to validate the card, update information on the card, define the correct fare and validate a transfer, according to RTD officials.
The smart card system allows passengers to pay for their ride in just a few seconds, said Bruce Abel, RTD assistant general manager of Bus Operations.
“This is a customer convenience, not needing to carry cash,” he said.
The smart card system will also allow RTD to track ridership data and cut down on counterfeit bus and light rail tickets and ID cards.
RTD “ambassadors” were dispatched Jan. 1 to answer questions about the smart card system at bus and light rail stations across the metro area, and they are expected to be stationed there until Jan. 7.
The second phase of the program, set to launch in August or September, will allow yearly, monthly and single-pass ticket holders to also take advantage of the smart card system. In the fall, RTD customers will be able to visit any King Soopers or Safeway store and load their card up with cash up to $200 to use public transit, Abel said. Passengers will still be able to pay their fares with cash if they don’t have a smart card, he said. But the public transit tickets, which people can currently buy at King Soopers and Safeway, will be phased out.
“They’ll still be able to pay cash. We want to provide as much convenience and as many options so as many people will be able to ride as want to,” he said.
RTD board member Tom Tobiassen, whose district covers Aurora, has been an outspoken advocate of the system since he joined the board in 2009. Smart cards will make the issuing of passes and the purchasing of tickets simpler and more streamlined, he said.
“I have received so many complaints about the current cash farebox and transfer system that something needed to be done,” he said in an email. But Tobiassen and Abel both say there will be a bit of a learning curve for customers.
“This will be a major paradigm shift requiring outreach and education for people that use RTD services,” Tobiassen said.
Abel said the smart card technology is already in use in large cities such as Washington DC and Atlanta.
“For transit areas our size, we’re pretty much at the forefront (of implementing the technology),” he said.
Phil Washington, RTD’s general manager, said he expects smart cards to attract new riders because of the ease and effectiveness of the system. A person can save between $9,000 and $10,000 annually by riding buses and light rail instead of driving, he said.
“We want folks to save money by riding public transit,” he said.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.