Smart Card and Faregate Project moves forward

TransLink has given approval for procurement to proceed for a new ‘smart card’ fare collection system across all TransLink transit services, complemented by faregates that will be constructed on the Metro Vancouver SkyTrain and SeaBus systems. TransLink intends to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Smart Card and Faregate Project this month, followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the spring of 2010. Work is expected to be underway in 2010, with the new system operational in 2013.

Using a smart card will provide a more seamless travel experience for passengers accessing TransLink’s transit network including SkyTrain, SeaBus, buses and West Coast Express.

TransLink’s smart card will be similar to cards in use throughout the world including the ‘ORCA’ cards already in use in Seattle. The card itself is the size of a credit card and is embedded with a microchip.  It will be available at all transit stations, and through other distribution channels, and will replace all other current forms of tickets and passes on TransLink’s system.   Smart card holders will be able to “load” their cards in person, via phone or on the web, and then use it on all forms of transit in Metro Vancouver by “tagging on / tagging off” at an electronic reader as they board and exit transit vehicles.

“Our customers have told us that convenience is a major factor in choosing to take transit,” said CEO Ian Jarvis. “The addition of TransLink’s smart card fare collection system, with all of its features, will deliver that experience, putting technology at our fingertips that will boost transit efficiency and give us the ability to transform our whole fare system.”

Smart card readers will be installed near the doors on TransLink’s bus fleet.  In the case of SkyTrain stations, the electronic readers will be incorporated into the faregates. Installation of faregates on SkyTrain also has overwhelming public support as it provides people with an additional sense of security on the system. Faregates also address some of the problems associated with fare evasion and will help TransLink capture additional revenues that are being lost.

The new fare collection system will generate valuable data that will help TransLink make transit services better and more efficient.  There will be ridership statistics by the time of day and the day of the week for every route in the system, which will help TransLink refine hours of service, schedules and even the size of the bus used, to match customer demand.

While the current transit fare structure will remain in place when the new fare collection system debuts in 2013, the new technology will have the flexibility to allow for new fare options and a greater variety of price incentives to reward customer loyalty and attract new people to transit.

Part of the overall cost of the program will be for renovations in Expo Line SkyTrain stations to make room for faregates. The new Faregates must be accessible, but designed to prohibit “stile-jumping.’ The disabled community will be consulted in the new year on faregate design as the project gets underway.

Funding for the Smart Card and Faregate Project, first announced in April 2009, is a joint partnership between the Government of Canada, British Columbia and Translink. The Province is investing up to $40 million and the Government of Canada has agreed in principal to commit up to $30 million to a maximum of one-third of eligible costs in this project. TransLink will fund the balance of the project; the project budget is $171 million. The competitive procurement process will start with the issuance of the Request For Qualifications (RFQ), and then the process will continue through 2010.