It's A New Year With Some New Changes...

Happy New Year!

So it's 2013 and we have a few changes.
Some changes coming now.
And more changes later in the year.

But let's start with the immediate changes; who they affect and who they don't.

The Smart Card.

You've seen all of our Smart Card readers, the new radios and heard about the changes on all the local news channels.
I've been asked about this constantly for the last six months.

It's here...mostly!

The Smart Card is replacing the myriad of Passes RTD has out there.
From the 6 bazillion College passes to the 4 trillion Eco and NEco passes.
All the tickets and coupons and all the different Monthly passes.
And eliminate 90% of the transfers we hand out.

As of this month, the Smart Card only affects those with College & Eco (NEco) Passes.

For College students, when your current sticker expires you'll be given the new College Pass Smart Card.

For Eco Pass holders, if you haven't already been given your new Smart Card, it's on its way to you now.

Hang onto your current pass and make sure you still have your sticker on it.
We're extending any deadlines/expiry dates to January 31st of this year.
This way Eco Pass holders have a chance to get the new cards and still use their old ones while they wait.

But that's the extent of the current changes: Eco & College Smart Cards.

Regular Monthly passes don't go "Smart" until the Fall and we'll be selling Tickets & Coupons at least until then and accepting them through the end of this year when they all expire.

So if you use Monthly Passes and/or Tickets & Coupons, you won't see any changes this month.

And NO - at this time, there are no Fare increases being announced, at least none that I've heard or read on RTD's site!

Starting in 2014, the only folks who'll be using cash and asking for paper transfers will be the one time and first time riders who probably won't ride again or who've only just begun to learn how to use the system.

This is what I've been taught, told and what I've learned so far.
But I strongly recommend you call in (303-299-6000) and ask them, they know far more than I.
And read RTD's web site.
There are a ton of pages dedicated to this change.
There is a customer service number for the Smart Card as well (303-299-2273)

And don't forget that there are Service Changes coming up next week.
The new schedules are in the buses and Stations as we speak, grab the new ones so there are no surprises come Sunday (January 6th).

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Find your seats,  Break out the Smart Cards - Let's Roll!" 
 

Money For Nothing...

And your trips for free...
I want my, I want my, I want my trips for free.

LOL, gotta love Dire Straits.

With our new Smart Cards coming out in January - The Eco & College Passes - and the My Card for monthly & discount users, etc, there are other benefits coming as well.
One of those is the ability to use Credit Cards on the Light Rail systems.

More and more I'm hearing customers getting frustrated with the fare box and ticket vending machine's inability to accept credit slash debit cards.

Well, finally you're going to get your wishes.
This Summer the Light Rail ticket vending machines will be updated to accept credit cards.

And that's the extent of what I've heard slash read slash been told.

If you want more information you'll have to call 303.299.CARD and visit the web page for more:

( RTD SMART CARD )

That said, here's my two cents.
And it's actually .275% rather than two cents.

What's the going rate on credit card transactions?
Isn't it like around 3 tenths of a percent of the transaction?

Folks, you remember that RTD is a tax payer supported municipality, right?

If you demand that RTD buy new trains, new buses, build new lines and add new routes, more frequent service, etc etc etc....
You KNOW who has to pay for that, right?

If y'all are asking RTD to start accepting credit cards, you realize that the price of the ride has to increase to reflect at least the increase in cost of providing that service you demanded, right?

RTD doesn't make a profit, so you're asking them to either not raise fares but cut back other services to afford this service or you're going to have to accept the cost increase when they come to the tax payer and ask for an increase in taxes and raise the fares to reflect the increased service demand.

And of course that's just my two cents slash .275%.
I've not heard ANY rumours of fare increases or anything.

I'm just thinking this through.

Personally, I think the entire system should be user supported, riders paying for the service they use, not the tax payer.
But I also think that regular yearly increases, like a nickel or dime each year.
Something that we can all count on so the extra quarter neither surprises nor offends us.
And something RTD can count on to continue to use to increase the services we demand.

Anywho, what I think and what happens in reality are usually far apart but we'll see how this comes to pass.
Get it?
"Comes to...PASS?"
See what I did there?
Jeesh, never mind...lol

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Find your seats,  Put away your Credit Cards - Let's Roll!"

It Just Ain't Fare!

My new routes take me through a bunch of park n rides, stations and light rail stations.
And whether it's because of all the cut backs or the simple fact that they are busy stations, lately I've had a ton of fare inspectors, both uniformed and plain clothed hop on my routes.
I think they've learned that the low hanging fruit is plentiful on my routes as they usually hop off within a stop or two to hand out tickets!

I'll tell you the correct fare and remind you that I'm not authorized to waive the fare giving free rides.
I'll also leave you to make the choice whether to board and ride with out having provided the correct fare or proper proof of discount.

The only thing I won't do is point to the fare inspector waiting for your decision.

And while I say this to every passenger who doesn't provide proper fare slash proof, that doesn't mean you can just ignore me and ride for free, those tickets are hefty these days and lately the chances of receiving them on my routes have gone way up to one outta three or four offenders.

So beware folks and kudos to RTD and the fare inspectors for putting the fear of consequences back into those who feel the rest of us owe them a free ride.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Pay your are, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Transfers, How Long Do They Last?

For some reason this topic is one of the more frequent questions I'm asked.
In a variety of ways but the bottom line is that y'all seem most confused about transfers.

Let's start from the beginning:

Let's imagine we're getting on the 15 out at Auraria Campus at about 5:45pm.
You get on the bus, pay your fare and ask me for a transfer.

We're scheduled to arrive out at the end of the route (Colfax and Helena) at about 7pm.
So when I "cut" your transfer it's going to be good until 8pm.

You may get off at Colorado to catch the 40 South but the ticket I've given you is good going East, North and South until 8pm.

Notice I didn't say West?

That's the number two more popular question:
Why can't I use this ticket for my return trip?

If you flip your transfers over you'll notice close to the very top, in bold letters it reads:
"Not Valid On Route Of Issue In Opposite Direction"

And just a little further down, again in bold print:
"Transfer Is Valid For One Hour After Last Stop On Route Of Issue"

Most folks don't think to read the back of that transfer but those are the more common questions and RTD has anticipated this and answered these questions for you.

So many people try to use the ticket in the other direction.
That's one of the first things I check when you show me your transfer.
I see the date, the month, whether am or pm, the time and the direction.

There is other information we Drivers provide each other for more detail but those 5-ish are the first things I see and pay close attention to.

For round trip tickets, you can get those at some stations, at Market Street and Civic Centre Stations, and the light rail stations allow you to purchase round trip tickets and they print "round trip" with an expiry very clearly.

So now y'all know.

Well, at least the 20 or so of you who wrote to me and asked!

Don't forget, RTD has a FaceBook page and they are really good about answering questions and there are other Drivers and even Passengers who help each other out on the page.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, take a transfer, find your seats - Let's Roll!"