Fare Payment Technologies > Fare Payment Systems          Printer-friendly version

What Is It?

• Fare payment technologies utilize electronic communication, data processing and data storage technologies to automate fare storage and collection.
• An advanced fare payment system involves an electronic fare media capable of storing fare information in a variety of forms ranging from read-only to read-write forms. Examples of electronic fare media are magnetic strip cards, smart cards with microprocessors, as well as proximity cards.

Key Results

Smart cards with microprocessors are the most versatile and promising advanced fare payment system because they have the ability to process computational routines. They accommodate more sophisticated fare pricing systems, allow automation of accounting processes and offer greater security and privacy (particularly important for carrying cash content securely and for identification purposes).

• User benefits: convenience, time savings, more equitable fares (more accurate or sophisticated fare pricing systems are generally fairer) and reduced risk of theft.
• Transit agency benefits: allows more sophisticated fare pricing systems, elimination or reduction of cash handling, reduced fraud, enhanced security, automating of accounting processes, enhanced operational effectiveness.

Costs

• Installation and maintenance of advanced fare technologies.

Implementation Challenges

• Technological components are already in place.
• The main challenges are institutional: 1. Efficiently managing the installation of the new technologies and 2. Establishing multi-agency partnerships when fare payment technologies are installed across transit agencies.

Where is it implemented?

• Magnetic strip cards are widely implemented throughout Asia, Europe and North America
• Smart-cards with processors are being more widely deployed in Europe (for example in London by 2002, in test phase in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome) but are increasingly being deployed in Asia (Hong Kong - the largest smart card system in the world -, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore and a few cities in Japan and Australia) and North America (San Francisco TransLink Demonstration Project, Washington D.C., there are plans for Chicago and Seattle).