kellergraham Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 I was just perusing on the MdeM forums when I noticed someone said having another proximity card in your wallet may cause interference with OPUS. I have 3 proximity cards on me at all times and have never had any problems with any of them. Anyone else have more than one proximity card? Have you had any problems? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Demers Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 I was just perusing on the MdeM forums when I noticed someone said having another proximity card in your wallet may cause interference with OPUS.I have 3 proximity cards on me at all times and have never had any problems with any of them. Anyone else have more than one proximity card? Have you had any problems? Alex Pardon my dumbness but what is a "proximity card" exactly? Is it those Chubb blank key cards that unlocks doors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMS Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Yes but there are other companies that make key cards. McGill for example uses HID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Pardon my dumbness but what is a "proximity card" exactly? Is it those Chubb blank key cards that unlocks doors? A proximity card is any card that doesn't require contact with any piece of equipment to be used. My three are: Mastercard Paypass Employee Entrance Card OPUS Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMS Posted August 25, 2008 Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 WARNING If you have the misfortune to use the SURF 10-ride SCAM card... always ask for a transfer. The GFI box will gladly take rides away from you and does not remember the 1 hr transfer system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 MTC might zap bug-ridden tickets EXTRA!! EXTRA!! Read all about it!! Persistent technical problems with a $169-million ticketing system could force the Montreal Transit Corp. to abandon its freshly launched six-ticket magnetic cards. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...ad-4a6499313583 They also explain that OPUS has had relatively few problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtltransitguy Posted August 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 MTC might zap bug-ridden ticketsEXTRA!! EXTRA!! Read all about it!! Persistent technical problems with a $169-million ticketing system could force the Montreal Transit Corp. to abandon its freshly launched six-ticket magnetic cards. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...ad-4a6499313583 They also explain that OPUS has had relatively few problems The best part '3/4 of the problems are to do with the fareboxes'...I love it! Most agencies that take this box have a "swip slot" where out ticket slots are. This way the passenger simply swipes the card as they pass by instead of taking 5-10 seconds trying to get the car into the slot and waiting for machine to regurgitate it. But the STM was cheap and decided to go all in one...so here we are, they got the boxes before they had a new system, and so we reuired somewhere to put the tickets, thus blocking the possibility to have a faster method of validating cards. Most problems would not occure if we had a swipe slot, because there would be no way to jam it! What they should have done is get the farebox the RTL has, and put additional TRIM boxes on the side like CCTA, those things are lighting fast with printing onto a GFI card, and the farebox itself has an even more conveniently placed swipe slot. That also would have required that we buy ACS OPUS readers like the RTL has, and those are also lighting fast! Fact is, the STM was so cheap they got the crappiest fareboxes on the market just to save money and have it all in one. This is fine for smaller agencies, but one the size of the STM should not use cheap fareboxes like this!!! We need to speed things up, and having a three component system would do that, since each part is specialized in what it is for, rather than having it all in one and taking forever. Like I have always said Odyssey sucks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2-8-2 Mike Posted August 30, 2008 Report Share Posted August 30, 2008 The best part '3/4 of the problems are to do with the fareboxes'...I love it!Most agencies that take this box have a "swip slot" where out ticket slots are. This way the passenger simply swipes the card as they pass by instead of taking 5-10 seconds trying to get the car into the slot and waiting for machine to regurgitate it. But the STM was cheap and decided to go all in one...so here we are, they got the boxes before they had a new system, and so we reuired somewhere to put the tickets, thus blocking the possibility to have a faster method of validating cards. Most problems would not occure if we had a swipe slot, because there would be no way to jam it! What they should have done is get the farebox the RTL has, and put additional TRIM boxes on the side like CCTA, those things are lighting fast with printing onto a GFI card, and the farebox itself has an even more conveniently placed swipe slot. That also would have required that we buy ACS OPUS readers like the RTL has, and those are also lighting fast! Fact is, the STM was so cheap they got the crappiest fareboxes on the market just to save money and have it all in one. This is fine for smaller agencies, but one the size of the STM should not use cheap fareboxes like this!!! We need to speed things up, and having a three component system would do that, since each part is specialized in what it is for, rather than having it all in one and taking forever. Like I have always said Odyssey sucks!!! AMEN! The STM fareboxes are so slow you would think that the computer is retarded, sometimes taking as much as 15 seconds to read my OPUS, whereas the RTL readers can read 10 passengers in the same time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 Well.. It appears that CITSO won't have OPUS before late 2009 or even 2010, since the system that they chose appears to be too advanced for the system that Montreal has chosen which means it's not going to be compatible. Why they didn't figure this out beforehand beats me, but in any event, we won't be seeing any Carte a Puce here in Chateauguay for alteast another year. So as of now we're out in the cold in regards to using Smart Card trams in Chateauguay. The mayor at the last city council meeting said he is furious that the system that is used in Montreal is only compatible with their own approved box model, which costs twice as much for half the functions of other Smart Card boxes. He said that if IBM's and Mac's can get along, why can't two same technologies work together now. As of now there is no solution unless CITSO decides to increase fares again to be able to afford the Montreal boxes, since , which means the same limitations that Montrealers are having... Bleh... Slow boxes, and no bills, now that won't work here! OPUS will not make theri system compatible with other smart card vendors, so now we have a monopoly, and if you aren't with OPUS, then you're SOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glaframb Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Here comes the bug again ! Yesterday, i went to the drugstore where i bought my Opus Card in order to put Laval STL 8 tickets at 18$ on it . The clerk did the job and charge me 18$. This morning when i went to check my card the STL tickets were not on the Opus card. I try to take the STL bus, it did not work either, so i try to get a refund at the drugstore they say they can't refund me, so I went to the Montmorency AMT they can't help me either and they can not sell me the STL tickets on my Opus Card either. This afternoon i will have to go directly to the STL Head office to get this thing fixed or get a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glaframb Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Here comes the bug again !Yesterday, I went to the drugstore where i bought my Opus Card in order to put Laval STL 8 tickets at 18$ on it . The clerk did the job and charge me 18$. This morning when i went to check my card the STL tickets were not on the Opus card. I try to take the STL bus, it did not work either, so i try to get a refund at the drugstore they say they can't refund me, so I went to the Montmorency AMT they can't help me either and they can not sell me the STL tickets on my Opus Card either. This afternoon i will have to go directly to the STL's head office to get this thing fixed or get a refund. The problem is now fixed ! It was a mistake made by the clerk who punch the wrong items ( she charged me a prepaid card instead of the opus card.) When you put tickets on an Opus card, if the clerk did not make a mistake the serial number of your Opus card should always appear on the bill. also you could ask to make an info request on your sold and you should see the new tickets on the card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. David Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 I have now been bitten by the Opus bug myself. I got my Opus card today, and I'm going to Berri to have the value of my CAN transferred onto it. I can't wait to start using it. On a totally different note, I am very impressed with the blue-vested Opus / SCAM card information staff. They're very friendly and approachable for the most part, and the majority of them are bilingual as well, which helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Another milestone for my OPUS card today. Traveling with my cousins from Vaudreuil, who took the Express Vaudreuil 40 to meet me , I was able to load a day pass onto my OPUS card for one of them. We used it all day (at least 7 times) with no problems at all! Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zouloukistan Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Well, I have a question. We had our picture taken at school today for the card, and now, I'm wondering about it. Let's say I buy 6 zone 1 train tickets, and 6 zone 2 tickets, loaded on my card. Now, I go to, say, Canora station, zone 1, and pass my Opus card on the card reader. How does the machine know if I'm going downtown, or, for instance, to Sunnybroke, in zone 2? Which ticket will it use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Well, I have a question. We had our picture taken at school today for the card, and now, I'm wondering about it.Let's say I buy 6 zone 1 train tickets, and 6 zone 2 tickets, loaded on my card. Now, I go to, say, Canora station, zone 1, and pass my Opus card on the card reader. How does the machine know if I'm going downtown, or, for instance, to Sunnybroke, in zone 2? Which ticket will it use? I already asked this question directly to the AMT. See post #326 and following posts in this thread. Click Here Long Story short, the system doesn't know what pass to activate, so you can't load 6 tickets for zone 1 and 6 tickets for zone 2 on the same OPUS card. You'd have to use traditional tickets (one or 6 pack), a second OPUS card, or the new SOLO card. Alex OPUS/AMT/CIT Specialist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMS Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 On Tuesday I was forced to trade in my reduced CAM at Cote-Vertu although it wasn't demagnetized. Today at Atwater and at Place D'Armes, my CAM would NOT work. I think these mesures are in force to weed out illegal adult reduced-CAM users because I have to go by the changeurs booth. I am not impressed. I wonder if an OPUS-Carte Privilege duo will help speed me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zouloukistan Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Ah, I see, thanks. Quite sad if you ask me, maybe there could have been a button on the machine or something... Oh well. It's not that terrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Ah, I see, thanks. Quite sad if you ask me, maybe there could have been a button on the machine or something... Oh well. It's not that terrific. As I said in that thread, it's only a small minority of people who will be affected by this, most of which will just use the standard 6-pack tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclair14 Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 Quebec city OPUS fever gonna begin tommorow. Until tommorow, only Employees and Abonne-Bus users were on OPUS, starting tommorow, 60 of the 230 RTC sales point will offer OPUS to monthly regular fare users. You can get the new card free in exchange of your old ID card or pay 3,50 for (i'm gonna pay the 3.50). RTC users will be able to register their card by mail. If the card breakdown, you will get a another one for free (but it must be tested by RTC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 Quebec city OPUS fever gonna begin tommorow. Do you know if this includes the "LAISSEZ-PASSER MÉTROPOLITAIN"? Has ST Levis decided to become part of OPUS? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclair14 Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 Do you know if this includes the "LAISSEZ-PASSER MÉTROPOLITAIN"?Has ST Levis decided to become part of OPUS? Alex No, RTC only , Laissez-passer métropolitain users will still use cardboard pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 No, RTC only , Laissez-passer métropolitain users will still use cardboard pass. Meh. I hope that will change. If it doesn't, what was the point of getting OPUS over there, for only one transit authority? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMS Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 OK well my issue is... well I'll try to get an OPUS for my regular monthly STM usage right? So what happens when I wanna put on a RTC daypass??!! Say I leave MTL to go to QC for some RTC fanning for AM rush. I leave here at 4 AM and get there for 7 AM. (Don't laugh! I did it with Steve in Jul 07!) So assuming that the metrobus stations (read: bus stops) have OPUS loaders - which I'm quite sure they won't - will they allow me to load my OPUS card with a RTC daypass? Anyway I'd like to know where there are OPUS loading machines in QC so I would be able to charge up easily enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclair14 Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 OK well my issue is... well I'll try to get an OPUS for my regular monthly STM usage right? So what happens when I wanna put on a RTC daypass??!! Say I leave MTL to go to QC for some RTC fanning for AM rush. I leave here at 4 AM and get there for 7 AM. (Don't laugh! I did it with Steve in Jul 07!) So assuming that the metrobus stations (read: bus stops) have OPUS loaders - which I'm quite sure they won't - will they allow me to load my OPUS card with a RTC daypass? Anyway I'd like to know where there are OPUS loading machines in QC so I would be able to charge up easily enough. Daypass are NOT avaliable on OPUS. Tickets and Daypass gonna use OPUS only in 2010 !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellergraham Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 Daypass are NOT avaliable on OPUS. Tickets and Daypass gonna use OPUS only in 2010 !!! I was shocked by that too. With the success OPUS is having here, I wonder why RTC is waiting that long... The technology is there. USE IT! Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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