Features

OAKLAND – Thousands of Bay Area commuters now have a new card to carry in their wallets or purses – the TransLink universal transit-fare card. On Friday, Feb.1, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and a half-dozen transit operators will kick off Phase One of a six-month pilot program of the TransLink electronic fare payment system. 

During the public demonstration phase, TransLink cards will be tested on selected routes and at certain stations of six of the region’s largest transit agencies: AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, San Francisco Muni and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. In preparation for the public launch, MTC and the TransLink Customer Service Center earlier this week mailed out TransLink cards to approximately 4,300 program volunteers. Every card has $3 loaded in TransLink Electronic Cash (e-cash). 

“Ambassadors” from MTC and the participating transit agencies will be stationed at key transit locations around the region during the first business days of the pilot program. The ambassadors will be available to answer questions from customers as needed, troubleshoot problems that might arise, and distribute information about the TransLink program. 

Announced at a late 2001 ceremony keynoted by Federal Transit Administration chief Jennifer Dorn, the public pilot program is a major milestone for TransLink and a significant step forward in the effort to create a seamless regional transit network.  

“We’re excited that so many Bay Area transit riders will have a chance to experience for themselves the hassle-free fare payment that TransLink makes possible,” said TransLink Project Director Russell Driver of MTC.  

The six transit systems participating in the TransLink pilot program offer a sampling of the Bay Area’s diverse modal mix, everything from ferries to streetcars to buses to commuter rail. Altogether, 18 rail stations, 31 bus lines, three ferry terminals and two light-rail lines have been outfitted with specialized TransLink card-reader equipment. The 4,300 volunteers who have received the cards were recruited because they routinely travel on these TransLink-equipped routes.  

The TransLink system uses “smart card” technology. Transit riders will use a plastic card embedded with a computer chip that they load with a dollar value, stored rides or monthly passes. 

They then need only tag the credit-card-sized card – without even having to remove it from their wallets or purses – at an electronic reader device located on transit vehicles, in stations or at fare gates, and the correct fare value will be deducted automatically from the card.  

TransLink will factor in a host of variables when calculating fares, including different fare structures for every transit operator, transfers, routes, lengths of trips, time of day and discounts for youth, elderly and disabled riders.  

To get ready for the public test, several hundred transit agency employees have been testing the TransLink card during their regular commutes to and from work in recent months. This smaller-scale “pre-test” gave participating transit agencies and the TransLink project staff a chance to get some hands-on experience in operating the new fare-collection system before it goes live for the public volunteers this week. 

“This is still a pilot project,” explained Driver. “The volunteers may occasionally find that some of the equipment is not working correctly, so we’re advising them to always be prepared to pay with cash, or a ticket or pass.” Information sent to the pilot program volunteers includes tips for using the TransLink on each of the six participating transit agencies.  

Participants in the TransLink pilot program can load value onto their fare cards at self-serve Add Value Machines in transit stations and some 40 retail locations throughout the Bay Area (including select Albertson’s, ACE Cash Express, Check Center and News Spot locations), or by calling the TransLink® Customer Service Center. Add Value Machines accept cash, debit cards, and 

Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit cards. TransLink® users can reload value automatically by subscribing to the TransLink® Autoload Program. 

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After the success of the pilot program is determined, MTC and the participating agencies plan to install TransLink® equipment on all 21 Bay Area transit systems, which together carry in excess 

of 1.6 million riders a day. 

MTC has contracted with Motorola, Inc. and ERG Limited to implement and operate the TransLink® fare-collection system. MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing 

agency for the nine-county Bay Area.  

For more information about the TransLink® program, visit the TransLink® Web page at www.translink.org.