Detroit-area transit agencies consider single fare card

Imagine grabbing a DDOT or SMART bus and paying with a plastic card that you just used to ride the People Mover and M-1 Rail.

Later, you head to Ann Arbor and use the same plastic card to ride the bus there.

Or maybe you just used a credit card or smartphone app to do the same thing.

A study is under way to transform how the four transit agencies under the umbrella of the Regional Transportation Authority of Southeast Michigan — DDOT, SMART, Detroit People Mover and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority — collect fares and how updating technology would make transferring from one system to another seamless.

RTA Executive Director Michael Ford has said that a universal fare card could demonstrate the potential benefits of regional transportation, which could help the agency as it seeks funding though a millage next year. The specifics of the millage have not yet been determined.

The RTA hopes to roll out some aspects of the study's recommendations before the millage vote, although the most advanced options would likely take several years to implement. Those advanced options could include the ability to pay a fare with a credit card or a mobile device. Before then, the RTA would look to give riders at all four transit agencies the option to use a single plastic card that could be preloaded with fare money.

The M-1 Rail streetcar line under construction on Woodward Avenue is not technically part of the RTA but has been participating in the discussions on the study, which began last year and is expected to be completed in June. M-1 Rail is expected to be ready for operation as early as late 2016.

The benefits of a more connected fare collection system would be evident, according to Cornelius Henry, a transportation specialist with the People Mover.

One system that doesn't force people to fumble around for coins or remember which card is charged up makes a system more usable and attractive and ultimately increases ridership, Henry said.

Henry is leading the study effort and secured the $100,000 grant funding it through the Michigan Department of Transportation. He was initially looking to upgrade the People Mover's equipment, but decided to broaden his focus.

"My thinking was, 'Let's do something that makes sense from a regional standpoint, not just for us, but let's help everyone else kind of upgrade their systems and find out what they need, so that we all can be compatible and eventually the customer that's out there would be able to use ... a universal medium that would work on all the systems,' " Henry said.

While it's unknown how many riders would opt for an RTA smart card, such a service could be heavily used. The four transit agencies provided 9.5 million unlinked trips (total passenger boardings) in the first quarter of 2014 — the most recent figures available — according to information supplied by the RTA.

Henry and his team have been reviewing similar systems in place or under construction in cities such as Atlanta, Sacramento, Calif., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

"This is the future. This is where we're moving so you need that convenience and flexibility because people obviously pay all sorts of ways now with plastic or some medium like that," Henry said.

Most users use cash or coins as the major modes of payment for all but the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, which primarily relies ride passes, although all four systems offer passes.

SMART and DDOT users also have the option of purchasing a monthly pass card for use on both systems.

Several bus riders at the Rosa Parks Transit Center downtown and others rushing to get on the People Mover at the Michigan Avenue station Friday said they were intrigued by the notion of a single fare card.

Auby Bryson, 53, of Detroit, who was waiting for a bus to go visit her mother on the city's west side, has not used the People Mover in more than a decade but said she would be more inclined to ride it if she could use one card for both the bus and the People Mover.

"You don't have all those tokens all the time. You'd have money on the card," she said.

Still, Joel Batterman, a coordinator with the transit advocacy group Motor City Freedom Riders, cautioned that a universal fare card is not a magic bullet for the region's transit woes. He said it makes sense to pursue such technology, but the people who rely on public transit in metro Detroit have more immediate concerns.

"Fare integration, while interesting, ... doesn't resolve the underlying issue of not enough buses on the road going where people need to go," he said.

The case of James Robertson, whose struggles to get to and from work were chronicled by the Free Press in February, illustrates the difficulties many transit riders face in the area. Robertson walked 21 miles each day from his former home in Detroit to his job in Rochester Hills and back, because bus service in the region is beset by service limitations amplified because some communities opt out out of the suburban bus service.

But proponents of the universal fare card and similar technology point out that such improvements would benefit riders in the end.

Paul Childs, chief operating officer of M-1 Rail, said such a system would be a big step forward for regional transportation. He even envisions a day when users can transfer from an Amtrak train to M-1 and on to the other transit agencies.

"It is all about connectivity and making it as easy as you can for your customers," Childs said, noting that transportation preferences are changing even in the Motor City. "The public is demanding different things now and everyone's got to be able to respond to it."

The main hurdle for implementing any such system is funding. The estimates range from $6.3 million for the most modest upgrades to $22.8 million for the most integrated system that allows for the most options, according to the study.

Travis Gonyou, a spokesman for the RTA, said the agency is hoping to partner with the federal government on funding assistance.

Henry suggested that gift cards or even the state-issued bridge card, currently for food assistance, could be used to pay for transit under the most advanced option.

If the bridge card were to be used in such a way, it would make Michigan an innovator, he said, noting that it would "make it easier for those who really need and depend on transit to get around."

In Georgia, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority offers a Breeze Smart Card, which replaced tokens and cards with magnetic strips, said spokeswoman Alisa Jackson. She said the system was implemented toward the end of 2005 at a cost of $200 million.

"(The system's) features include six-foot, Plexiglas entry gates, interactive Breeze vending machines, 'tap-and-go' card readers on entry gates, buses and paratransit vehicles, and a state-of-the-art computer system that links everything together," Jackson said in an e-mail. "The Breeze Card looks like a credit card, but it has a computer chip inside that can be encoded with cash value or a discount pass."

To tap-and-go, riders tap their cards on a blue, circular Breeze "target" when they enter a station or bus. If a card is valid, the system deducts the appropriate fare from the card and opens the gates or signals to the bus driver that the rider has paid, Jackson said.

There are several ways to add value to a Breeze Card, including online and at vending machines.

Dan Dirks, director of DDOT, said he is an advocate for an open system that allows for payments using credit cards and other options. Moving to such a system is the trend, he said.

"It's going to happen. It's happening all over the country to be honest," Dirks said, adding that any investment in coordinated fare collections needs to be designed to last for 15-20 years.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com or on Twitter @_ericdlawrence