IDEA: MAKE IT EASIER TO PAY TO RIDE THE BUS
My family hasn't had a car since I was 4 years old. Currently 21, I still live with them. I commute to San Diego two or more days a week to City by Carpool and Public transportation (next semester will be 4 days a week 4 times each day - will be full time and working part time on island. ) I visit most of my friends by foot and public transportation while relying on a college 4 month bus pass to make this economically plausible.
Riding public transportation all my life and over 16+ countries with too many cities to name off my tongue, I have always been annoyed about the exact change rule of San Diego's public transportation system (which is Metropolitan Transportation System or MTS) and related cities when buying a pass to entry or ticket directly on the bus. I understand why, it's easier and shouldn't be the drivers' responsibility to give you change (though in Vienna the driver took his time to politely give me change from a change purse back in fall 2007.) However, it's always annoyed me. To top it, I hate carrying coinage (I used a hand sewn coin pouch from a renaissance fair in Europe and Ecuador.)
And MTS's move away from transfer tickets to day passes has made life easier, but I rarely see anyone use the compass card (similar to the Oyster card with London Underground) where you load a credit onto a digitally re-loadable magnetic strip/RFID smart card (like those tap and pay credit cards) for boarding MTS's vehicles.
I think MTS and other cities public transportation should move away from prepaid cards and flashing one's physical bus pass. They should work with the banks and have it where you either pay as you go in cash or with whatever program you are part of that gives you a bus pass of some sort by tagging it to your debit, atm, credit card and even for those who have wellfare cards.
Think about it, you would have one less card in your wallet. You would have a lesser chance of forgetting either, and you could just swipe it and board. And if you had any issues on the other end, you could sort it out on the phone at the end of the month. Of more fumbling to get a faded paper pass or fearing your compass card is out of credits.
Now it is true there are problems with using one's currency related card for public use. Many of these problems can be resolved by having security features on your cards or through your account and just playing it safe.
Whether my idea has any sensibility in it, we will see our future approach a similar route as most things that can be digitized and integrated will follow suit.
Riding public transportation all my life and over 16+ countries with too many cities to name off my tongue, I have always been annoyed about the exact change rule of San Diego's public transportation system (which is Metropolitan Transportation System or MTS) and related cities when buying a pass to entry or ticket directly on the bus. I understand why, it's easier and shouldn't be the drivers' responsibility to give you change (though in Vienna the driver took his time to politely give me change from a change purse back in fall 2007.) However, it's always annoyed me. To top it, I hate carrying coinage (I used a hand sewn coin pouch from a renaissance fair in Europe and Ecuador.)
And MTS's move away from transfer tickets to day passes has made life easier, but I rarely see anyone use the compass card (similar to the Oyster card with London Underground) where you load a credit onto a digitally re-loadable magnetic strip/RFID smart card (like those tap and pay credit cards) for boarding MTS's vehicles.
I think MTS and other cities public transportation should move away from prepaid cards and flashing one's physical bus pass. They should work with the banks and have it where you either pay as you go in cash or with whatever program you are part of that gives you a bus pass of some sort by tagging it to your debit, atm, credit card and even for those who have wellfare cards.
Think about it, you would have one less card in your wallet. You would have a lesser chance of forgetting either, and you could just swipe it and board. And if you had any issues on the other end, you could sort it out on the phone at the end of the month. Of more fumbling to get a faded paper pass or fearing your compass card is out of credits.
Now it is true there are problems with using one's currency related card for public use. Many of these problems can be resolved by having security features on your cards or through your account and just playing it safe.
Whether my idea has any sensibility in it, we will see our future approach a similar route as most things that can be digitized and integrated will follow suit.
posted by Jonspotz | 5:58 AM
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