Mobile Fare Payment & TVM Replacement

[TimmyC62]

For fellow Android users, make sure to search for "My Fare", and not "Calgary Transit"/"Calgary Transit payment"/"Calgary Transit fare" or any other similar logical search terms that will return a null result.

 

(I've tweeted them to try to make the app more visible for people searching for "Calgary Transit")

[downbeat]

1 hour ago, TimmyC62 said:

For fellow Android users, make sure to search for "My Fare", and not "Calgary Transit"/"Calgary Transit payment"/"Calgary Transit fare" or any other similar logical search terms that will return a null result.

 

(I've tweeted them to try to make the app more visible for people searching for "Calgary Transit")

It’s as if they’re intentionally trying to make it hard to find and use!!

[downbeat]

Apparently, the iOS version of My Fare could now be rolled out as early as tomorrow:

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-transit-my-fare-app-not-ready-for-apple-devices-on-launch-day/wcm/5e2d9fbc-cc81-405d-92ca-9e7242a538c1/

[Dreadteir]

On Android; I found the app easy enough, bought my bus pass, and had no issues on the way to work. 

I think I'll buy some bus tickets for rare occasions that my phone battery dies though; or maybe pick up a small power bank.

[downbeat]

1 hour ago, Dreadteir said:

On Android; I found the app easy enough, bought my bus pass, and had no issues on the way to work. 

I think I'll buy some bus tickets for rare occasions that my phone battery dies though; or maybe pick up a small power bank.

Great idea! I sometimes kept spare tickets around even in the past, just in case.

[downbeat]

Yahoo! The My Fare app is now available for iOS. 

 

 

[Nick B]

Just downloaded it and I already love it. This will make riding transit so much easier!

[armorand]

On 7/2/2020 at 12:52 AM, downbeat said:

Great idea! I sometimes kept spare tickets around even in the past, just in case.

I just get paper. Paper always. That way, if my phones dead or without internet access, i won't get fined $300ish for not having a "fare product" on me. 

If thats the case though... so if I were to get checked with this app, and the app doesn't work, yet I have an non-validated ticket on me that hasn't been validated at the train station... will we still get fined? Or would we have a free pass & a warning? 

[M. Parsons]

7 hours ago, armorand said:

If thats the case though... so if I were to get checked with this app, and the app doesn't work, yet I have an non-validated ticket on me that hasn't been validated at the train station... will we still get fined? Or would we have a free pass & a warning? 

I think it's safe to say if there is a known issue with the app not working you'll get a free pass. 

If it's because your phone isn't working for what ever reason, then personally, I'd say tough shit. 

If a customer hasn't made sure that they will have a device capable of displaying the fare media when required, that's on them. 

It would just be like if I tried to tell a fare checker that I have a bus pass and I forgot it at home. Could be 100% true, but I'd still get a fare evasion ticket because how many times have they heard that excuse?

Certainly, if you're a daily rider whoe usually catches the same bus with the same driver they could give you a break and even give you a transfer, but on LRT, that's not going to be the case.

And how many times in a day do fare checkers encounter someone without a validated fare but they have unvalidated tickets on them and try to pull that excuse? 

[Jon Calon]

On 7/1/2020 at 11:11 PM, Dreadteir said:

On Android; I found the app easy enough, bought my bus pass, and had no issues on the way to work. 

I think I'll buy some bus tickets for rare occasions that my phone battery dies though; or maybe pick up a small power bank.

DON'T buy electronic fares unless you're able to use them almost immediately.  Who would've thought they needed to expire purchased electronic tickets?

Last saturday, a friend and I went out to ride a bus with another friend.  I bought two tickets on MyFare and found out that I didn't need to buy two.  It's now a week later and Transit has my $7.00 for two tickets and I could only use one.  The other one expired.  I'm not happy with the fact that you can't purchase tickets when you have room on the credit card and expect them to last more than a week.  Gift Cards can't expire, and neither can paper tickets.  Why does Transit see fit to steal money from people?

Jon

[Dreadteir]

7 minutes ago, Jon Calon said:

Gift Cards can't expire, and neither can paper tickets.  Why does Transit see fit to steal money from people?

I think you might have a valid point here, Jon. Bus fares DO have a specific cost tied to them, $3.50, to be specific. As such, I wonder if they could be counted as gift cards under Alberta's Gift Card Regulations, due to a bus ticket having a cash value.

 

I would give 311 a call as the regulation (https://open.alberta.ca/publications/gift-cards#summary) requires you to first contact the business and give them the opportunity to comply with the regulation. If this does not work, it might be worth calling Service Alberta’s Consumer Contact Centre at 1-877-427-4088 for help.

 

The money customers lose on expiring tickets on MyFare could quickly add up to a lot of money, depending how popular the App gets in the future.

 

Good Luck!

[Mark Walton]

I created my account in anticipation of my trip out there next week, will be putting it to the test.

[chills_on_the_train]

Used it several times since launch. It's SO nice to not have to do the math on whether or not I should buy a monthly pass, and never being stuck with that "oh, no" moment when I forgot to buy a pass before the 1st of the month, and now have to trudge home and scrape up some change or find a ticket.

I also may or may not have used it to buy and activate a ticket immediately after getting on a train rather than use the machine on the platform and consequently miss said train. May or may not.

[Mark Walton]

The myFare app passed every test I threw at it during my recent visit. For each of the 5 days I used the system, I bought a day pass either in the early morning or the night before, then activated it before my first trip. After that, it was just a matter of calling up the pass, then tapping it on the bus reader - valid every time. Twice aboard the CTrain I was checked; on one trip the inspector used his portable reader to check it, kiddingly grumbling that it was only the second time that day. I saw others using it too, which hints at its apparent popularity. Sometimes the pass was slow to load, but that was probably my phone; it's an older one, coming due for replacement soon.

[1604]

UCalgary and the city are piloting UPass on My Fare this summer: https://www.ucalgary.ca/ancillary/parking/springsummer-2021-upass

[downbeat]

Are there any Calgary Transit MyFare monthly pass users on the board? Have you noticed the pass activation now only last for 90 minutes? It used to be it would stay activated all month long after first use. 

[Dreadteir]

24 minutes ago, downbeat said:

Are there any Calgary Transit MyFare monthly pass users on the board? Have you noticed the pass activation now only last for 90 minutes? It used to be it would stay activated all month long after first use. 

Yes, it seems to have started at the beginning of May, and I find it quite annoying.

[1604]

https://www.calgarytransit.com/content/transit/en/home/news/the-upass-returns.html

Quote

The UPass is once again being offered to post-secondary students, beginning in the fall 2021 semester.

After the COVID-19 pandemic began, Calgary’s post-secondary institutions opted to suspend the UPass program as they shifted to online learning. With the return of in-person classes, the institutions will be re-instating the program, ensuring full time students have access to transit at a reduced rate.

The fall 2021 UPass will be provided using My Fare,  our mobile ticketing app. Students will download the app and set up a myID account, using their student email address. Their UPass will then be sent directly to their phone, eliminating the need to line up for a UPass sticker each semester.

For information about My Fare, visit calgarytransit.com/MyFare.

For UPass information, including eligibility and instructions, students should visit their institution’s website.

• University of Calgary
• SAIT
• Mount Royal University
• St. Mary’s University
• Alberta University of the Arts

I noticed the app got a small visual update too.

[downbeat]

I have never heard this explanation before. I can't imagine mobile tickets taking up very much room, whatever medium they are stored on …

 

 

[1604]

My Fare adds seniors, low-income pass options for Calgary Transit riders

https://livewirecalgary.com/2022/02/10/my-fare-seniors-low-income-pass-calgary-transit/

[1604]

I used the new weekend group pass in the MyFare app today. Awesome idea and it certainly saved a few bucks.

Using it onboard buses could be better though. It scans as a completely "Regular" fare, so I kept having to explain and show the operator it was in fact the new group day pass and not actually a "regular" single ticket.

Note the expiry is even shorter than the regular mobile tickets - you can only activate the pass the day you buy it. I bought it today (Saturday) and the unactivated expiration date was at the end of service tonight (01:59 Sunday).

Great idea though and I look forward to using it again.

 

On a different but related note, the bottom portion of the doors at Brentwood have ads for MyFare. Probably other stations too?

[1604]

Lots of interesting info about MyFare in the 'Calgary Transit Fare Innovations' report (also attached for posterity) going to the Infrastructure and Planning committee this week.

Some stats:

"Adoption of the My Fare app by Calgary Transit’s customers has been rapid with approximately 40 per cent of fare revenue collected using the My Fare app in 2022.

Even with adoption of the My Fare app and tap payments enabled at ticket vending machines (TVMs), cash payments continue to be an important option for customers. [...] Eight percent of customers use cash when paying on the transit system [...]. This figure does not count transactions at customer service centres, vendors, or City Hall Cashiers that have also been made with cash."

"The data shows rapid adoption of the My Fare mobile fare payment app since 2020, and the Transit trip planning and fare payment app since 2022. However, this shift to mobile app fare payments does not appear to be at the expense of ticket vending machine market share. [...] This trend indicates the rapid adoption of the My Fare and Transit mobile apps reduced the market share of ‘Convenience/grocery stores’ fare product sales. The mobile apps provided customers with a more convenient method of purchasing their fares directly on their phones, reducing the need to make a trip to an outlet at the end of each month."

 

Future plans:

TVM replacement: "Calgary Transit [is] in the midst of this evolution as. . . . the years-long procurement process for new ticket vending machines beginning."

Ticket validators at CTrain stations: "Additional onboard validators for Calgary Transit Access vehicles and validators on platforms at CTrain stations are items that should be funded as part of the technology roadmap to ensure customers can scan their tickets/passes when boarding all aspects of Calgary Transit’s service."

 

Potential new features:

-Account based ticketing, with mention of linking the account to a contactless credit card or smartphone as well as the MyFare app

-Account based ticketing with stored value to support other fares like low-incomes passes and UPass, and allow customers without credit cards or bank accounts to load cash onto their account

-Fare caps

-Open loop payments to allow customers to pay with contactless credit cards or smartphones without having an account (this is listed as "2027+" on the roadmap)

-Paper barcode tickets for single ride tickets - ridership data can be collected

-Period passes, e.g. weekly passes or monthly passes that work for 31 days, not a calendar month

 

Lots more info in the report - it's definitely worth checking out if you're interested!

Attach 2-Calgary transit Far Innovations-IP2023-0369.pdf