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A Few Hints on the Q Card
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:30 PM

Now that it’s been six weeks since we’re officially launched the Q Card, here are a few pointers about using it.  

First, please try to use one Q Card exclusively for your travel. Some of you are picking up a Q Card at Fiesta, for example, putting $2 on it, and then picking up a second Q Card at another retailer and adding money to that one.  

If you do that, it will take longer for you to build up your loyalty program. We are giving away five free trips for every 50 trips you take. If you use more than one Q Card, and take the bus or train using two different Q Cards, it will just take more time to accumulate the magic number you need for your freebies.  

Also, using one Q Card per person is an environmentally-friendly act. Less plastic produced, less waste.  

Second, be sure to tap your card when you’re riding the train. If you have come from a bus and are transferring to a train, tap. If you are walking up to a platform, tap. If you don’t tap, your card will indicate that you haven’t paid when our METRO police officers randomly board and check with a handheld wand that they can hold up against your Q Card. So please, tap.   

Last week, the METRO Police Department conducted a rail blitz and issued warnings to passengers who had failed to tap – but hopping on a train without paying can result in a fine ranging from $75 to $200, said MPD’s Capt. Michael Raney.   

And finally, when you transfer from bus or train to the next METRO vehicle, you will not be issued a paper transfer. Just tap your Q Card when you hop on the next bus or train. The Q Card has an embedded computer chip that keeps track of your trips – so it will automatically know if you’re transferring (it’s free within a two-hour window) or if it’s a new trip. That’s why the Q Card is also called a smart card in the industry.
Posted by Mary Sit
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    • Comments

    Chris said:

    Mary,

    How much does each QCard cost metro?

    # February 20, 2008 4:34 PM

    Steve Palmer said:

    I'm going to do something that might be unprecedented on this blog: leave a positive comment about the Q Card.

    My employer, which used to provide monthly METRO passes to employees who don't want to pay $120+ per month for parking (I work in the TMC), recently started giving us Q Cards instead. I've found the card to be faster and easier to use, because the card readers seem to be less tempermental than the ones in the fare boxes that used to read my monthly pass.

    Also, I no longer have to schlep to the parking office every month to pick up a new card; my employer automatically adds more rides to the card every month. (Actually, it wasn't the schlepping I minded--it was the fact that if you didn't pick up your monthly pass during a certain window of time, you'd have to wait until the next month to get another one. This could be a hassle if you were out sick or away on vacation during the pick-up time.)

    Of course, I haven't had to deal with any of the difficulties involved in obtaining a card or adding money to it myself, so I can't speak to those issues. But my personal experience with the Q Card has been good.

    # February 20, 2008 4:59 PM

    Dominc Mazoch said:

    Question:

    I get on the 108.  Tap.  Go to Downtown.  Get on the 700 (LRT).  Tap.  Get off at Wheeler, and go to Sears.  Get back on LRT at Wheeler, SB. Tap.  I am within the 2 hour limit.  When I get back on at Wheeler, will $1.00 be deducted, or does one get a "stopover" on the same route in the same direction within the 2 hours?

    # February 20, 2008 7:42 PM

    mizz_porkie said:

    no...domonic you will not bne charges as long as you are going in the same direction.

    now if you'd gone to sears, got back on the (lrt) headed to downtown, you'd been charged!!

    or next scenario, you 'd got off at sears, rode 65 bissonnett to kirby, got off and attemptes to rebeard 65 retuning to wheeler station, tap, you would be charged an additional $1.

    NO ROUND TRIPS!!  NORTH OR SOUTH,EAST OR WEST!!

    # February 21, 2008 6:58 AM

    RC said:

    If the 50 trips are a mixture of $3.00 park and ride and $1.00 express trips, what will be the value of the 5 free trips?

    # February 21, 2008 8:53 AM

    Cedric Collins said:

    RC said:  "If the 50 trips are a mixture of $3.00 park and ride and $1.00 express trips, what will be the value of the 5 free trips?"

    My guess is---none.  Hence the words "free trips."  While you use up your five free trips, nothing gets taken from your Q Card.

    Dominc,

          Whether or not money is taken from my Q Card, I'll tap anyway---no matter what direction I go---because there may be a way for METRO Police to see if you're recently tapped it before you came face-to-face with them.

    Better safe than sorry, right?

    # February 21, 2008 9:06 AM

    Mary Sit said:

    Chris,

    Each Q Card costs $1.33 - the lowest in the industry.

    # February 21, 2008 10:17 AM

    Mary Sit said:

    RC,

    Regarding your question asking what is the value of five free trips:

    The value of the five free trips is whatever the trips you are taking. Once you take 50 trips, the next five trips are free.

    Here's an example. Let's say a Park & Ride customer who normally pays $3.50 for a one-way trip on the bus accumulates 50 trips. Then he or she decides to ride the train to go to lunch. That $1 trip is considered a free ride.

    On the other hand, if that passenger decides to travel on a $3.50 route, that is also one free ride.

    # February 21, 2008 12:23 PM

    Royko #2 said:

    So I have to comment on this...I want to applaud the officers that give out tickets once a month or so on the rail. I don't know why they aren't out there giving tickets more often. According to my calculations and using the numbers from the blog Metro is missing out on 30 million in revenue. I saw that the number of riders hit 40 million and according to the stats I read approximately 1 percent of the riders out there don't pay for a fare. At 75-200 dollars a ticket Metro could be making or teaching some serious lessons. Even if Metro paid one cop 2350 dollars per hour for the past four years they could still make a 10 million dollar profit. Does anyone know if Metro is hiring:)

    # February 21, 2008 2:11 PM

    P&R Rider said:

    I have a question on the 50 rides then 5 free.  I was lucky enough to accumulate 50 then got some free ones.  From my observations the ride count displayed when you hold your Q-Card on the reader for 2 seconds shows the number of paid rides and the balance remaining on the card after deduction for the ride.  The "free" rides do not count on the card ride number and your balance does not go down. So my card now shows ride number 56 and I'll get another 5 free when the count hits 100.

    My question for Mary Sit is, Can I go on the web site to check my Q-Card balance and get detailed information about the dates and fares deducted from the card?  I try to keep a running total of my balance and number of paid rides on an Excel spreadsheet but I sometimes forget to record the fare.  

    I have gotten 6 free rides since 1-28-08 due to reader malfunction when it showed "Shift Closed" in addition to the 5 free I got when I accumulated 50 paid rides.

    # February 22, 2008 7:39 AM

    Richmond Rider said:

    Same direction... pfft. Either the drivers AND Metro staff at Wheeler are lying (not likely), or everyone who used to either do a daily

    local bus-light rail-light rail-local bus (me) or

    light rail-local bus-local bus-light rail commute

    will have to pay $4 a day instead of two.

    Please, Ms. Sit, clarify, and if it is the latter doubling of price is the new policy (I can't tell, because the wonderful Q card readers don't show how much you have left long enough to tell, and I've been avoiding the rail for a couple of weeks), please tell your marketing dept to stop toting the whole "Some fares have been reduced to $1!!! Metro is better than ever!!!" when it's the same company that has reduced and eliminated numerous routes and doubled (more in some cases) the price of many people's commute.

    # February 22, 2008 3:14 PM

    UrbanCommuter said:

    My light rail-local bus local bus-light rail commute is still $2/day.  If that helps.  If you hold the card over the reader thingy for a while it will continue to show your balance.  

    # February 22, 2008 3:46 PM

    John said:

    Quick Question about the QCard

    If I was in Downtown and boarded that 53 Westheimer to the Galleria, and wanted to go back within the 2 hour limit, Could I ride that 33 Post Oak Bus to the Northwest Transit Center, from there take the 20, 85 or 131 back downtown for the same $1.00 or is the QCard smart enough to charge $2.00?

    What about going from Downtown to Hobby Airport via the 88 Hobby Airport then returning within that same period on the 50 Harrisburg?

    # February 22, 2008 3:57 PM

    Richmond Rider said:

    @John

    I believe the bus routes have a north, south, east, or west designation.

    You will most likely either use up your two hours or travel opposite of one of the two directions you are allowed to travel using that route.

    # February 22, 2008 4:44 PM

    Richmond Rider said:

    @UC - Thanks.

    # February 22, 2008 4:55 PM

    angela bynum said:

    today I took the bus to the bank then back to the grocer store and back home again. Total cost $3.00. I will take the bus to work tomorrow and pay 1.00.  $4.00 total for very short trips that are unwalkable because of the mess on the roads. On the daypass, I could have paid $2.00 total, made the trips I did today and to work tomorrow and made an extra trip that I needed to take today but couldn't afford to pay another 2 dollars for. The Q card has cut my bus riding down quite a bit.

    # February 22, 2008 8:06 PM

    Dominc Mazoch said:

    I realize there is no roundtripping with Q.

    the other day I used Q on the 108, and the LRT with stopover within the two hour limit.  PERMITTED!  Sweat!

    We've lost the Daypass, but reg gas over $3.00/gal, I can live with it.

    # February 23, 2008 7:31 PM

    mizz_porkie said:

    angela.....read dominic's response!!  gas is over $3.00 gal for reg.  these buses burn diesel which is considerably higher.  i live 35 miles outside houston i work for metro(operator) it costs me $80.00 per seek to go to work and back home.  take in consideration i do not go anywhere else.  my insurance premium is 120.00 per month.  and don't forget wear and tear on the vehicle.  

    i am not taking up for the Q...just hink that folks here need to be a little more greatful, stop complaining we are the 4th largest city in America and have the lowest fare.  everything else is going up and we pay for it....my light bill has tripled....and i am not at the PUC (public utilities commission) BARKING about it!!  so has my water bill, gass bill, clothes shoes and food.  property taxes, and amusement.  so i guess what i am saying is learn to live with it because its here to stay!!!!

    and no........to answer the questions and comments of many people riding the bus, THE OPERATORS DID NOT GET A PAY RAISE!!!!!!!!!  BUT  METRO RAISED OUR INSURANCE WENT UP TO APPROX $100.00 PER WEEK!!

    I.E., ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES

    # February 24, 2008 6:37 AM

    MIZZ_PORKIE said:

    P.S OH... I FORGOT ABOUT THE $410.00 PER MONTH NOTE (DUE TO THE CAR I HAD PAID FOR FAILED THE EMMISSION TESTING I HAD TO BUY A NEW ONE) AND THE YEARLY INSPECTION STICKER $35.00.... AND THE YEARLY LICENSE REGISTRATION $73.00 AND THE APPROX. $50.00 PER MONTH MAINTENANCE COST.  AND ITS NOT LUXURY A 4 CYLINDER SMALL.....I MEAN SMALL CHRYSLER!

    # February 24, 2008 6:44 AM

    angela bynum said:

    I am very limited in funds and now I can't even get out of the house much. I could never afford a car but that doesn't make paying more for the bus acceptable either. I now have to walk to the laundrymat (6 blocks) because I can't afford to spend 2 dollars just to do laundry because after all I have to spend 2 dollars to got 3 blocks down the street because I can no longer walk due to road construction (mud, no sidewalks,and the danger of walking out in the street with cars).  I wouldn't mind paying 3 dollars for a day pass if I could just get a day pass. When you have to go everywhere on the bus, you have to make alot of separate trips as I can't carry laundry, groceries, etc on one trip.  If the city would fix the sidewalks I could walk to work which would save me 20 dollars a month so I could afford the extra trips on the bus to run errands, but the city cares nothing about pedestrian safety. I was hit by a road block last week that a car ran over (i was at a metro busstop when this happened) I contacted the city and they did nothing. I could have been killed if that think would have hit me in the head, fortunatly I only had severe bruising on my arm and back.  Houston is a dangerous place for pedestrians.

    # February 24, 2008 8:57 AM

    angela bynum said:

    fortunately the side of the freeway doesn't have as much road construction as the other side and there are sidewalks but most of the stuff I need to get to is on the other side of the freeway.

    # February 24, 2008 8:58 AM

    Dominc Mazoch said:

    Humm...Let's see something.  I could drive my car, to say Fondren and Westheimer.  I live near Parker and IH-45.  Let's say I went 45 to BW 8 to Briar Forest, and take BF east to Memorial and come to Blalock and turn right.  That turns to Fondron.

    I have EZ-Tag.  Tolls, RT = $7.50.  This does not include the other car costs.

    Q via 108 to 53 or 82:  RT = $3.00.  Plus add a bit to drive to N. Sheperd P&R.  And the 108 fare will be dropping to $1.00.

    With Q, now I have to watch so i make all of my trips in the same direction.

    # February 24, 2008 3:02 PM

    mizz_porkie said:

    angela, i do understand the limited funds issue mine are always limited.  i am a single mom of two getting them prepared for college, trying to save and pay house note insurance taxes and other bills.  all i am saying is the cost of living in TEXAS us climbing....FAST!!  and we all are paying and will pay the cost.  For me, its having to work as much overtime as allowed and then work another PT job on saturday and sunday to save some $$ for my kids tuition.  I JUST LEARN TO SACRIFICE, ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES, COMPLAIN NOT, AND MOVE ON!!  WHATEVER IT TAKES, I STILL MOVE ON!!

    METRO"S costs have been rising for years.  and they did not make any revenue off the daypass. I feel its time for a fare restructuring its long overdue.  

    # February 26, 2008 8:33 AM

    Ragu said:

    I have a senior discount ID card that I bought when I turned 62 a couple of years ago.  It expires on my birthday in 2013.  I am currently 64.  If I get a QCard, will the senior discount be grandfathered in?

    # February 26, 2008 9:08 AM

    Dominc Mazoch said:

    Ragu:

    There is a Q for that:  Picture ID and Q combined!

    # February 29, 2008 9:07 PM

    Elizabeth said:

    For people like me whose Q card through their employer has not worked yet (I keep tapping - it keeps saying there's no money on it), having a separate one is a good thing.  Since my employer hasn't yet been able to figure out why even though mine has money on it, it's not working (they tell me they're waiting on Metro to tell them why), I don't want to keep paying cash to get back and forth to work.  Since I probably have a bad card or something, it's a good idea to have a spare, just in case.

    # March 3, 2008 12:33 PM

    Mary Sit said:

    Elizabeth,

    Send me an e-mail and give me your full name and address - I will pass it on to Jeff Linton, director of revenue. He is the go-to guy for all Q Card matters and said he would be glad to talk to you about why your Q Card issued by your employer isn't working. He suggests it is not a good idea to have two Q Cards because it would take you longer to accumulate 5 free trips for every 50 paid trips.

    Go to "Contact Us" in the navigation bar at the left to send me an e-mail. Thanks, and sorry you are having problems.

    # March 4, 2008 9:21 AM

    Mary Sit said:

    Elizabeth,

    You don't have to give me your address - typo. Meant to say your phone number so we can call you. Thanks.

    # March 4, 2008 9:22 AM

    Elizabeth said:

    Problem has been solved.  My card worked fine this morning.  I still think I want a spare "emergency" card that's not tied to my employer just in case.  I wouldn't keep much on it, but it's there if I need it.

    # March 4, 2008 3:28 PM
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