Transit Industry Admires METRO's Q Card System
Monday, March 16, 2009 5:17 PM
In January 2008, METRO achieved something no transit agency had done before: It changed the way riders paid, and it restructured the fares simultaneously.
Today, at the 2009 Fare Collection Workshop in Houston for industry professionals, fare revenue experts nationwide learned more details of METRO's conversion to the METRO Q® Fare Card. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is sponsoring this three-day conference, hosted by METRO.
A unique aspect of our smart card system is the Back-of-the-Bus Reloader (BBR). Many of you have probably reloaded your METRO Q® Card using this device in which you can reload the balance on your card by inserting cash into the machine. Patrons can reload their cards using bills from $1 to $20.
The BBR is installed on our entire fleet of local buses. About 84 percent of all reloads are done on the BBRs.
This BBR gave customers a way to load money on their Q Card in the amount they could afford that day - and still be able to take advantage of the benefits of a Q Card, such as the loyalty program offering five free trips for every 50 paid trips; and free transfers within a two-hour window of time.
Joseph C. Simonetti, a consultant in revenue management technologies from Willowbrook, Ill., called the BBR a great device. He is pictured above with METRO's Jeff Linton, director of revenue.
"I think that's what your customers need - to be able to load at the back of the bus," said Simonetti. "When you have a reload system, you are going to have a system throughout the city or on the bus. It's better to have it at the back of the bus than at the front because you don't want to delay boarding."
Scott Rodda, chief executive officer at Booz Allen Transportation Inc. in San Francisco, agreed that the BBRs were wonderful. 
"In San Francisco, we don't have it. And we're suffering from people saying they don't have enough places to go to add value to their cards. So having it on the buses is very advantageous," said Rodda, who consults the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional planning agency in San Francisco.
Simonetti said he thinks other transit agencies are interested in installing BBRs for their smart card system. "When you look at the numbers of reloads here, how can you argue with that success?" he added.