http://www.stm.info/English/info/smartcard2008-QA.htm
You buy a Smart Card (actually a credit-card sized RFID transmitter), fill it with value at metro station vending machines (using cash or credit cards), and then wave it in front of a RFID reader at the subway turnstile or bus fare box.
It looks like the Montreal Metro will be getting this system in 2008. You have probably already seen the new turnstiles at station entrances.
Too many benefits, including:
a) getting rid of those paper weekly passes which are too fragile, imho
b) allowing credit card use to pay for metro fares
c) all the other benefits such as convenience, security, and reliability
If you want to see a preview of how such a system would work, go to Washington, DC and use the DC metro, which has had a very similar system for the past few years.
You buy a Smart Card (actually a credit-card sized RFID transmitter), fill it with value at metro station vending machines (using cash or credit cards), and then wave it in front of a RFID reader at the subway turnstile or bus fare box.
It looks like the Montreal Metro will be getting this system in 2008. You have probably already seen the new turnstiles at station entrances.
Too many benefits, including:
a) getting rid of those paper weekly passes which are too fragile, imho
b) allowing credit card use to pay for metro fares
c) all the other benefits such as convenience, security, and reliability
If you want to see a preview of how such a system would work, go to Washington, DC and use the DC metro, which has had a very similar system for the past few years.