Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) is looking at a new smartcard fare system, reports Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow. The new systems, due to be installed in about nine months, will take both cash and smartcards that can debit the fare automatically when passengers tap them against an electronic sensor.
Even as CAT moves to implement new fare technology, the article points out that ridership is still down from last year.
The new smartcard fare system comes from British Columbia-based Fare Logistics the US-based Trapeze Group . The video below demonstrates a similar system for Collier Valley Florida transit, also known as CAT.
The fare box detailed in this video is not the same as the system that Charlottesville will be installing. Our system will be slightly more advanced. Also, I want to clear up one error. Our system is being supplied by the Trapeze Group, a US company, not by Fare Logistics of British Columbia.
Thank you for the clarification, John.
Trapeze bought Fare Logistics, something John told me during our interview. I believe I put Fare Logistics in the article because they were the firm that developed the technology. The acquisition was announced in April.