MTA Plans to Let Bus Riders Pay Fare With Swipe of Card

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board moved a step closer to a universal fare system Thursday by deciding to develop a plastic “smart card” to replace traditional paper bus passes.

At the same meeting, the board announced the appointment of John Catoe, head of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus line, to the No. 2 post within the MTA.

The decision allows the MTA to solicit contract proposals over the next several months from companies to create the system. The estimated cost of development and installation in more than 2,000 buses is $287 million.

A decision on which system to buy is not expected before December.

As envisioned, a computer chip or chips would be embedded in the cards. They would work like bank debit cards, with transit users putting money--$10, $25 or $100 or other amounts--into the cards, then withdrawing it a ride at a time. Riders could take as many rides as they pay for, entering and leaving buses or trains with a simple swipe across a card reading device.

John Fasana, the MTA board chairman, says the smart cards will create “a seamless” transit system that will benefit long-term riders and maybe lure new passengers to MTA buses and trains because it will be so easy to use.

He said a card with a memory chip to keep track of the number of trips will be better than a monthly bus pass because passengers will pay only for the trips they take.

Fasana said fares probably will be tied to today’s popular $42 basic monthly bus and rail pass. Currently, all passes are sold by the month, even if only a week’s worth of rides is used.

“People will have the best of all worlds, because if they use the card a lot, they would be charged only up to the cost of a monthly bus pass, but if they only use it for one ride, they would get billed for only one ride,” Fasana said.

Critics said much remains to be ironed out. Among the concerns, said Deborah Orosz of the Bus Riders Union, is how cash will be handled. She also asked about the future of tokens, which discount the cost a $1.35 regular fare to 90 cents.

“Our real concern is that there hasn’t been enough information for us to get a real clear idea of what impact the smart card will have,” Orosz said. Her group circulated fliers saying the $287 million spent on smart cards would be better used to buy more buses and hire more drivers.

Santa Monica’s Catoe will become the MTA’s deputy chief executive officer Oct. 1, beginning the same day as newly named Chief Executive Roger Snoble, who currently heads the Dallas Area Rapid Transit District.

Catoe’s appointment is expected to shore up two MTA problem areas: relationships with labor unions and municipal bus operators.

In Santa Monica, Catoe has developed a reputation for being able to work well with unions. And as head of one of the nation’s most respected small bus lines, he is viewed by municipal operators as one of their own.

The municipal operators in recent years have been at odds with the MTA. They say they have not been getting their fair share of transportation dollars. That problem has the potential to grow with use of a smart card.

The key advantage of the smart card is that it would allow train or bus riders on the MTA system to transfer to local bus lines without buying a transfer or extra ticket.

The problem is the multiplicity of fares within the county. There are more than half a dozen full-service bus lines in Los Angeles County, in addition to the MTA, and each has its own fare structure.

Municipal bus operators will want compensation for passengers who transfer to their lines from the MTA.