Two years after London Transit planned to replace paper tickets with electronic passes, those plans have hit another speed bump that will push back the debut until at least January.

Though scanners on buses seem to be working with Fanshawe College students who are the first to try the new technology, the same can’t be said about the website that would enable riders to add money and months to their electronic cards.

“We’re working out final issues with the web portal,” said London Transit Commission general manager Kelly Paleczny.

That’s a move in the right direction for the LTC that has spent the better part of the last three years working out the kinks in the scanners that are already on all city buses.

The scanners are now working, Paleczny said, despite a snag last week when a LTC driver confiscated a student card that doubles as an electronic bus pass for those attending Fanshawe.

The driver took the card from Shounak Chattopadhyay, who is in his third year studying civil engineering technology, after the scanner failed to read it. Though the LTC has told drivers to allow such student in, this driver did not, refused to return the card and even accused Chattopadhyay of defrauding London Transit, the student said.

That left Chattopadhyay without a card he needs to attend Fanshawe and even to get health services since the international student from India has no other local identification card with a photo.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do,” Chattopadhyay said. “It was amazing how he called me a fraud in front of everyone.”

London Transit returned the card the next day and is investigating what happened, Paleczny said. “A student card should never be confiscated,” she said.

Alan Bushell, president of the Fanshawe Student Union, said the mistake was an isolated one.

The smart card system was supposed to be up and running in 2013, a year after LTC hired Scheidt-Bachman, a German company with offices in Kitchener. The system was funded by $3.7 million from Ontario drivers as part of the provincial gas tax.

Once the system is fully functional, Paleczny expects it will recoup the cost in about eight years because the LTC will eventually eliminate paper tickets and the associated costs of creating and selling them.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/JSHERatLFPress

SMART CARD ADVANTAGES

Passengers can board more quickly so buses don’t fall behind schedule.

Once passengers buy a smart card or pass, they need only go online to add money or months.

The switch from paper to electronics will save the LTC money with a payback for the $3.7 million investment in about eight years.

LTC will be able to offer special passes online that weren’t feasible to produce with paper, such as weekend passes for summer festivals.

LTC will be able to better plan to meet demand because the scanners will show exactly how many fares the buses take; With paper passes, London Transit has had to estimate numbers.

HOW SMART CARDS WORK

Riders will buy the cards, then add to their value online.

Riders tap their cards on the scanner that deducts the fare and counts the ride.

Students at Fanshawe College, but not Western University, already have student cards whose electronic chip works on LTC buses.

A 90-minute transfer is automatically loaded when fare is paid.

The scanners will read LTC smart cards only, not debit or credit cards.

Many stops to get here:

2012: LTC hires a German company with offices in Kitchener to create a system that will cost $3.7 million.

2013: Original target date for starting, the system is delayed because LTC runs into snags making it work.

2014: Target date is pushed back again

June 2015: New target date is September.

September 2015: Grand launch pushed back to October as only Fanshawe students use the scanners.

January 2016: New target date to launch the service to the public.