Using RTD’s public transportation just got a whole lot smarter.
The Regional Transportation District introduced on Jan. 1 the first phase of its new smart card program, which requires riders to only tap their smart card on a reader before boarding the light rail or a bus to pay their fare.
The first phase only affects CollegePass and EcoPass users. The EcoPass is a pass that companies purchase for employees that allow employees an unlimited number of rides.
“We can enhance the boarding process,” said Bruce Abel, the assistant general manager of Bus Operations with RTD.
“The bus dwells while the customers board for a shorter period of time, which helps us in terms of our on-time performance, which is obviously very important to our customers. It helps us get the trip and our customers on our way.”
The new card system will also help decrease the need for cash, Abel said, benefiting both riders and RTD.
“For our customers, they won’t have to worry about having the exact fare, but from the organization’s perspective, we won’t have to spend hours counting cash each day,” he said.
RTD bus operator Phillip Zielonka said that expediting passengers was key.
“For us, it’ll help get the buses on time and get the passengers on time. It eliminates all of this ‘They come with the wrong pass or the wrong fare.’ It’s going to be great. It’s a mild tap and I sit down and move the bus on schedule,” he said.
The new system requires very little change in customers’ behavior when boarding buses, but light rail riders will have to change their routine slightly, Abel said.
Light rail riders who are not riding the light rail in the downtown region, which the pass is automatically set to, will have to choose which level of service they want — local, express or regional. Signs near the readers at the light rail stations can help riders determine which area they need to select for their destinations. Abel said 70 to 75 percent of trips are in downtown zones, though, and customers will not need to adjust their zone fares.
The cards will also help reduce the number of counterfeit bus and light rail tickets.
“The electronics in the pass do have a safety in them so that it can only be used once [in a certain amount of time] and cannot be handed back to somebody and reused,” Abel said. “It’s one pass for one customer.”
RTD’s smart card system is one of the first of its kind for a city of Denver’s size.
Fare inspectors will have handheld devices to ensure riders tapped their cards.
Phase two will be implemented in the fall and will be oriented to the general public, Abel said. The two phases are costing RTD a total of $15 million. For more information on RTD’s smart card system, visit www.rtd-denver.com.
