The Toronto Transit Commission have submitted for approval the concept of using smart cards to replace existing transit tokens, tickets and passes.
If approved, tickets and tokens that is currently widely used by thousands of transit riders, may become a thing of the past.
It is not going to be an immediate implementation, however. Because even if the present leadership of the transit authority approves the replacement of the fare system, it could take five years before it could be implemented all over the city.
A report will be presented next week and estimates by consultants undertaking the study says it may cost about CAD$260 million to install the system (about 7,000 smart card readers to be set up across the whole TTC system) plus an additional CAD$12 million yearly operating cost.
It may seem costly but the main business case for the project, the report says, is an expanded benefit for TTC riders and Toronto Transit employees.
Buses, streetcars, the subway line and all Wheel Trans transportation shall be equipped with smart card readers.
TTC customers and riders would be able to load amount into their smart cards and the system will deduct the appropriate fare automatically every time the user swipes the card.
For unlimited travel, a rider can also load weekly or monthly passes, just like the present bus pass in circulation.
The report also believes that smart cards will add flexibility and convenience for the riders, customer service may be improved at service stations, would result in improved lineups to pay the fare and it would add convenience for customers transferring to other transit systems in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
“A smart-card system will reduce the amount of cash that needs to be collected and transported within the system,” the report stated.
But the best expectation for this card system, is the increased security of the transit operators, because they would no longer be responsible for checking fares on buses and streetcars. It is believed that assaults on bus drivers would be reduced according to the report.
Implementation of the system is expected to occur in stages and may take up to five years.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Marie Soriano
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