RDN Transit riders should be able to pay for their bus fare with transit cards or cell phones by the end of the year.

BC Transit, RDN Transit’s financial partner, announced in January an agreement with Cubic Transportation System Inc., provider of the Compass card payment option for Lower Mainland buses, to provide more modern payment options to transit operators across the province. The new technology is expected to be adopted on Nanaimo-area buses in November, according to a report by the RDN’s transit select committee.

Current change boxes are expected to be replaced with a system allowing customers to use a pre-loaded travel card or Umo phone app initially, although it is still possible to pay in cash, Darren Marshall told the committee , responsible for RDN’s public transport operations. at its March 10 meeting. Debit and credit cards and mobile wallet options will be available in the future, he said.

Marshall told the News Bulletin the move was necessary because current fare boxes were becoming obsolete.

“They’re end of life and you can’t get parts for them,” he said.

RDN director and committee member Don Bonner, a transit user, said the move would be beneficial as it will make it easier to get on and off the buses. Lowering barriers for transit users will eventually lead to increased ridership, he said.

“The idea of ​​being able to just walk on a bus, tap your card and then sit down, that will eliminate one more reason why people don’t use buses,” Bonner said.

The Umo system will first be used in Victoria as part of a pilot project, due to launch in August.

[email protected]
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

BC TransitTransitTransport