Calgary Transit has begun testing an electronic fare payment system on its fleet of buses and C-Trains.
It's called CONNECT and will allow passengers to use a smart card instead of cash or tickets.
The system is great news for passengers like Richelle Brown. She's looking forward to an easier, simpler way to pay her way on Calgary Transit.
"It's more convenient, a better alternative to change," says Brown. "You lose coins in your pocket. It takes forever digging for coins."
"I've seen so many people miss trains."
The CONNECT system allows transit riders to pay their fare using a smart card instead of cash, tickets or monthly passes.
Transit users will tap their smart card on an electronic pad which will automatically deduct the cost of the trip. The pads have already been installed on transit buses and at LRT stations.
The CONNECT system will consist of disposable cards (monthly and airport passes) as well as environmentally responsible reusable cards.
"When it runs out you can take (the card) to a home computer and reload as many trips as you like," explains Calgary Transit's Ron Collins.
500 cards are currently in use as Calgary Transit launches the pilot project. In June, a survey will ask customers and transit operators for feedback on CONNECT and how to improve the system.
Calgary Transit hopes to have the system up and running by this summer.
CONNECT has a price tag of nearly $7 million with the cost being shared by the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government.
For more information on the Connect Electronic Fare Payment System, visit Calgary Transit's CONNECT website.
