The city expects to introduce an electronic bus fare option in early October.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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Electronic bus fare in the form of pre-paid swipe cards and a smart phone app is coming to Medicine Hat this fall, administrators told a council committee on Monday, but that won’t replace cash for the time being.
An e-fare system with the ability to track ridership was one of several proposals the city put forward last year in grant applications to stimulate the economy and bolster municipal operations without adding operating costs.
The federal government will cover about three quarters of the $450,000 cost of developing the payment system which will debut on Medicine Hat buses in early October.
“It’s a little easier for riders and it will help us with the collection of data – knowing where people are getting on buses,” said public services head administrator Brian Mastel.
“We’ll continue to have cash fares and monthly passes, but they will be swiped as people get on the bus. We’ll start the rollout of information and transitioning in the coming weeks.”
The city has sought ways to reduce its transit budget without major changes to routes and other operations since 2017. Three years ago it debuted on-demand service for some routes on evenings and weekends when ridership fell.
The new system will define patterns of ridership which could help route and also reduce some administrative costs, said administrators.
“There is a cost of managing and handling cash, understanding there are issues for people who may not have technology at their hands, but there are ways to deal with that.” said interim city manager Glenn Feltham, who felt if the eventual goal is to go cashless, the program should be accelerated.
Council members on the committee said they were concerned about potentially limiting access to those with limited technological know-how, or those financially unable to put money onto a card for future use.
“Our main rider is a person who doesn’t have access to other forms of transportation, but there are casual riders,” said Mastel. “Through the pandemic we saw less cash used (on transit), but there’s still a fair amount that use cash.”
A separate $200,000 grant was used to install a $250,000 system to assist dispatchers with locating vehicles and allowing riders to check in on routes and plan travel schedules.
