FARE PLAY ON THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO

This article describes the Translink universal public transport smart card, that will be valid on all bus, rail and ferry systems in the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; it includes a route map. When calculating fares, the card will be able to allow for many variables, such as different price structures for different transit operators, journeys, times of day, and passenger groups. The card can also be read remotely, so that the correct fare for a journey will be deducted in a fraction of a second when the card is placed within 15cm of an electronic reader on a transit vehicle or at a station fare gate. The Translink project began in May 1999, when the Area's Metropolitan Transport Commission (MTC) awarded a ten-year contract to develop the system to a consortium led by Motorola and ERG of Australia. Motorola is providing the card and the electronic components that read it, ERG will assemble the fare-reading equipment, develop its software, and set up operator support and customer service systems. A six-month trial of the card will begin in mid-2000 on selected routes on six local and regional transit systems. The article also reports briefly on other public transit payment systems in the USA, and provides a global perspective for transport smart cards in Europe, Asia, Australasia, and South America.