Translink’s Smart Card Faregate
Railway Track and Structures (bet that doesn’t feature on your regular reading list) reports on the progress towards selecting one of three qualified bidders.
What caught my eye was this bit
The province is providing C$40 million for the Smart Card and Faregate project, while the federal government is contributing C$30 million from the Build Canada Fund. TransLink is covering the remaining costs – approximately C$100 million of the estimated C$170 million capital project.
Now I may be wrong, and I have spent too long on the other post I just put up to go look, but that does not seem to me to be the same figures I have seen quoted before. Can someone put me straight?
Otherwise just the same guff we have seen before
Stephen Rees's blog 
We’ve heard the $100-150million number for the station upgrades needed for fare gates. I’ve also heard the number $30 million for the smart card program.
If I had to guess I’d say this was a combined number since as part of the whole project the farebox systems on the buses will need to be replaced. They are approaching a decade old, which is the designed lifespan of the boxes. So I imagine we’ll see a complete farebox replacement program as part of this project.
Matt
July 13, 2010 at 4:50 pm
In a couple of places I have visited there is a cash fare box by the driver plus a smart card/ tickets reader. There are also small tickets/ card readers by the other doors if boarding is allowed by any door.
Tramways don’t have a fare box as the driver is in a closed cabin and only have several card/tickets readers by each door. Tickets are bought at machines on the platform, before boarding.
The card readers have a slot on top for tickets with a magnetic stripe (many towns still use them for infrequent trips).
If you have a smart card you either “tap” it on a small “target” on the front of the reader or hold it close to that spot, depending on the town.
Red frog
July 15, 2010 at 11:33 am
The trams in east(ern) Berlin had fare machines on board.
Dave 2
July 15, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Amsterdam’s trams reverted to having conductors on board their trams some years ago, Evidently it has been successful.
zweisystem
July 15, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I didn’t mean to generalize about trams..I should have said “in the trams I used in France”..thanks to Dave 2 to remind me about Berlin trams ..the driver was having a smoke outside, at the end of the line. I got in and he showed me how to get a ticket using the machine inside. In Frankfurt the machines were on the sidewalk by the stop. That was then…but things may have changed since..or not.
Having a conductor is a good idea too. Its reduce fare evasion, help passengers, gives a job to someone. ..before globalization lots of people had “small” jobs, yet they–my grand parents and parents generations–managed to buy a house with their modest wages, and they weren’t spending a big chunk of their wage on the mortgage either, as they bought everything else (food, solid wood furniture, clothes-some custom made-etc.)in cash.
Red frog
July 16, 2010 at 8:37 am