Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Federal Transit Administration Chief Announces Public Test of TransLink® Smart Card

Contact:

Randy Rentschler
510.817.5780
rrentschler@mtc.ca.gov

Russell Driver
510.817.3252
rdriver@mtc.ca.gov

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 30, 2001 . . .The dream of stitching together the Bay Area's twenty-plus transit systems into a seamless, traveler-friendly network moved a step closer to reality today when the visiting chief of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the launch of a key public test of the TransLink® universal transit-fare card. FTA Administrator Jennifer L. Dorn joined officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission -- sponsor of the TransLink® project -- and several transit agencies at the Caltrain terminal in San Francisco to symbolically kick off a pilot program that will involve 4,000 volunteer transit riders and a half-dozen transit operators over a six-month period beginning early in 2002.


Dorn used her TransLink® ticket to ride Muni Metro to the press conference at the Caltrain station.

Ms. Dorn got into the spirit of the occasion by using a TransLink® card to travel on the Muni Metro light-rail "N" line from the Embarcadero station in downtown San Francisco to the Caltrain station at 4th and King streets. In prepared remarks, Ms. Dorn echoed the sentiments of U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who recently described the TransLink® project as "visionary," and "the kind of creative thinking this region will need." She added that "I hope that this model will be tried by other metro areas with complex transit services."


The new TransLink® fare-payment system uses "smart card" technology. Transit riders will purchase a plastic card embedded with a computer chip that they "load" with a dollar value, stored rides or monthly passes. They then need only flash the credit-card-sized card -- without even having to remove it from their wallets or purses -- in front of an electronic reader device located on transit vehicles, in stations or at faregates, 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 students or elderly and disabled riders.

Dorn "tags" her TransLink® card at the Caltrain station. Also ready to tag their cards are (left to right) MTC Vice Chair Steve Kinsey, Alex Mehran, president and CEO of Sunset Development Company, and Michael Scanlon, general manager of SamTrans.

"TransLink® ushers in a new era of rider convenience by eliminating the need to carry exact change, crisp dollar bills or multiple fare instruments," said Marin County Supervisor and MTC Vice Chair Steve Kinsey. "TransLink® will make it easier and more attractive for commuters to use public transit, particularly when their route involves two or even three different systems and crosses a couple of county lines. The more attractive transit is, the more people are going to use it, and the fewer cars are going to be on the road."

During the public-demonstration phase announced today, the TransLink® card 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. Together, these six systems offer a sampling of the Bay Area's diverse modal mix, everything from ferries to streetcars to buses to commuter rail. All together, 18 rail stations, 31 bus lines, three ferry terminals, two light-rail lines and 50 transfer points have been outfitted with specialized TransLink® card-reader equipment. The 4,000 volunteers who will be participating in the pilot program were recruited because they routinely travel on these TransLink®-equipped routes.

The TransLink® system also will benefit transit agencies. "A central computer system will handle all transactions and distribute payments to transit agencies on a daily basis," noted MTC Vice Chair Kinsey. "And since the system will record every transaction, the agencies will have a comprehensive database to help them with planning, marketing and financial accounting."

To get ready for the upcoming public test, several hundred transit agency employees have been testing the TransLink® card during their regular commutes to and from work in recent weeks. This smaller-scale "pre-test," which is still ongoing, gives TransLink® project staff and participating transit agencies a chance to get some hands-on experience in operating the new fare-collection system before it goes "live" for the public volunteers in 2002. After the success of the larger 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.