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THE TECHNOLOGY
The heart of the Company’s management information service is a fare card read/write processor, which is placed on board transit vehicles. Upon accessing a transit system, the transit user feeds a prepaid, disposable fare card into the computer. When a fare card is introduced into the computer for the first time, the computer deducts a credit, and records a coded transfer on the card. The transfer permits the transit user to access other transit facilities within a specified time delay by simply feeding the coded transfer into subsequent computers. Should the specified transfer time elapse before a journey is complete, the computer will automatically deduct further credits from the pre-paid card. The fare card computer verifies the transfer in less than 1.5 seconds, which relieves the driver of this task and speeds up passenger boarding. The system can also be programmed to deduct multiple credits at specified times of the day, such as rush hours. Unlike monthly or weekly passes, the Company’s cards have no expiry date, and are therefore more appealing to passengers that worry about their pass expiring before taking a certain number of rides. The fare card computers onboard transit buses will be loaded with one-ride cards, which the driver dispenses when the rider deposits the single ride cash fare in the farebox. In systems where passenger loading is seriously affecting the service the existing fareboxes can be retrofitted with electronic coin counting equipment to eliminate the need for drivers to verify and clear the cash fare. Regular transit customers may purchase 10, or 20-ride cards at retail outlets throughout the service region. Infrequent transit users will generally purchase the single trip fare cards by paying cash on the bus. The onboard fare card computers accomplish part of their information
gathering function by being connected to the odometer and suspension systems
of transit vehicles. By recording the distance traveled and the time of
each fare transaction, the computer gathers the information necessary
to create a revenue profile of each fixed route in the bus service area.
The suspension system interface allows the computer to record another
part of route/run data, the points at which transit vehicles are running
with over one quarter of the passengers standing. Data from the computers
are stored in memory modules, which are uploaded to a central computer
at the end of the day. The central computer is equipped with software
to produce a time-related revenue profile for each route on the basis
of the data collected from each individual fare card transaction.
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StroMaxIS International Corporation e-mail stromaxis@telus.net |