We’ve chosen a supplier for our smartcard and faregate system!
We’ve chosen a supplier for our smartcard and faregate system!
This just in—after evaluating proposals submitted by three shortlisted suppliers, TransLink has chosen Cubic/IBM to design, build and operate our electronic smart card and faregate system!
Cubic/IBM has built a number of fare card systems around the world before, including London’s Oyster Card, San Francisco’s Clipper Card and Metro Atlanta’s Breeze Card. We’ve also worked with them on projects in the past.
Our project team will be finalizing the contract with Cubic/IBM in the New Year, and you can also look forward to the announcement of the name and design of our smartcard in January 2011.
Check out the TransLink website’s section on smartcards and faregates for updated info, including a new backgrounder on Cubic/IBM and the selection process. You can also see the Buzzer blog’s past posts on the smartcards and faregates project.
And here’s an excerpt from our press release:
TransLink has selected Cubic Transportation Systems with IBM Canada as the preferred proponent to design, build and operate the electronic smart card and faregate system, set to begin operations in the Metro Vancouver transit system by 2013.
TransLink’s new system is expected to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and security of the transit network by providing a convenient and seamless “one card” approach for customers to travel all modes of transit. As well faregates will provide a visual and physical deterrent to entering the system without payment. The new system will also accept contactless bank-issued cards for tourists, casual riders and others and will allow TransLink to collect important trip and ridership data to enable more coordinated system planning and deployment.
Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of Cubic Corporation, has demonstrated experience in successful delivery and service of large AFC (automatic fare collection) systems worldwide, including:
- London Prestige Project Oyster® Card System
- Metropolitan Atlanta Breeze® Card System
- Los Angeles Metro TAP™ Card System
- San Francisco Bay Area ClipperSM Card System
- Miami Dade County EASY® Card System
- Brisbane, Australia go Card System
IBM has been recognized by its customers and industry analysts across North America as being a leader in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Call Center services and solution marketplace. They have supplied systems and services in British Columbia since 1921.
The Cubic/IBM team was selected from a group of three pre-qualified companies, including Thales/Octopus International Projects and Serco/Parkeon who participated in the request for proposal process.
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Sort of disappointed. Loved the Octopus card when I lived in Hong Kong. Why did IBM win out over Octopus?
Alex2000: Hmm… I don’t really know! You can check the backgrounder to see selection criteria and the like. But anecdotally, I can tell you that the selection process took a long time, and lots of our staff had to go through some enormous documents in great detail and then have long long discussions about the fine points. I don’t imagine it was an easy decision to make!
Will Translink be emphasizing the safety upside of installing fare gates? Other cities have found the number of security incidents decreased after access to the system was controlled via fare gates (eg: Washington, DC’s subway). People only seem to be only seeing the cost of the gates vs. revenue lost by fare cheaters.
It’s more than a money issue….
Freeloaders take up “space” on trains and buses that are in demand with paying customers trying to get to their jobs. Too often I’m left behind because buses and Skytrains are full. Too often I’m late for work or an appointment. Too often I see wheelchair riders abandoned as there is no place for that chair.
If we remove freeloaders, Translink may not need to spend so much on new buses and trains. If there is truly no freeloaders…. Let’s prove it. Let’s accurately count the paying passengers who support more buses and Skytrain that is running for that given route.
Whatever we do, make sure we actually assess the gates before we install them as opposed to ‘Gategate’ currently in SF.
“What really rankles isn’t so much that expensive new technology is effortlessly compromised by dishonest people: These gates weren’t installed, specifically, to combat fare evasion….What’s bothersome is that Muni knew full well that this problem existed, but is only now starting to ask the questions that should have been answered before money exchanged hands and Muni was stuck with these gates. ”
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/09/muni_faregates.php
@???: As I recall, there WAS a dataset collected some months ago regarding fare-evaders, and the conclusion was that something like 99% of all people who got farechecked did in fact have proof of payment. So really, freeloaders do not fill up a significant part of the system.
Octopus probably didn’t make it because it’s not a Canadian company? IBM already has presence in Canada :(. Sad…octopus is a really great and convenient system, but there’ve been issues with privacy that they haven’t been able to deal really well with in Hong Kong.
I’m watching this with great interest, it’s much better to have an efficient fare system rather than our mass of tickets and passes. What would be wonderful is allowing the system to use for small things like convenience stores, or gas station shops. Eventually expanding to major food shops, etc.
@Tim: that collected information was done without gates. Freeloaders are getting smarter with various techniques to avoid detection. That 1% adds up and makes a difference to people left behind and give up on transit.
@Tim, I think that we will will see some surprises with faregates. i think the effects on public safety (other than fare evasion) will be more that we expect. No link, that’s just my opinion.
Already, TL is seeing a discrepency betweein high ridership and lower fare revenues, possibly due to fare evasion.
“A new financial report shows the average fare paid per rider declined last year and has held steady so far in 2010 despite the 10 per cent fare increase that took effect in April.
One theory is fare evasion is on the rise – possibly due to the tough financial times over the past 18 months.
And it might not be passengers blatantly boarding without paying, but more who are paying for one zone when they’re riding through two or more.”
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/langleytimes/news/108271994.html?mobile=true
Melvin: I don’t think Canadian presence was an issue for selection—otherwise Octopus wouldn’t have been even allowed to present a solution! As I did mention, all the shortlisted companies had to put together enormous technical documents to outline their proposals for building and operating the system, so it’s no small undertaking to be part of the shortlist.
Jimbo: I think we’ll be talking about all aspects of faregates as the project moves on. Check the smartcard project FAQ for instance: there is a bit on security there.
I kind of want to caution that faregates are not a total panacea to the world’s ailments though… of course, while we will likely see some security improvements, it’s probably not fair to say that security will suddenly be 100% perfect with the installation of gating. This is rather a long way of saying that systems with faregates may have less security incidents, but they still do have incidents, and I don’t think we will be different.
???, Tim, mezzanine: Definitely, all systems have fare evaders and it is important to try to ensure we are serving as many paying customers as we can. And not to be all Debbie Downer on this, but I do want to mention that while faregates and smartcards will help us in this work, I don’t know if we can really say that fare evasion will suddenly become 0% because the faregates are there! Some people will always be determined to evade a fare, they will do their best to figure out a way, and we will still have to try to mitigate those issues as best we can.
Changing the topic focus to the card…. what defensive measures will there be for RFID technology?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbtMclbatU
Will there be RF sleeves like for Nexus cards? Will there be an option for real-time emailed receipts to identify unauthorized activity.
My fear, and it’s hypothetical right now, is that the gates will cost so much to operate that Translink will have to reduce staff levels on the system.
If that happens then safety will be worse than before and evasion unchanged because fewer people equals lower likelihood of getting caught.
I’m very disappointed that translink has taken this route. Firstly, there are already engineers at each station doing nothing, except when the trains break down. In the 365 days in a year, there are problems only around 3 days of the year, so what are three people doing for the other 360 days. They are even too lazy to check fares, you don’t need fare gates to , you can use them to check fares.
Secondly, translink’s 2040 goal is not to have faregates, it is to have less than 50% of metro vancouverites travel by car. Faregates do not help achieve this goal. We need to build rapid transit, to Coquitlam, surrey, langley, white rock, vancouver West end, SFU, ubc, and North vancovuer. Priorities?
To clarify, are the Compass tap cards using the same Wave technology as credit cards? Will Compass be as vulnerable to $50 scanners?
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110704/bc_story_contactless_credit_cards_110704/20110704/
Ever since this post was made 3-4 years ago, the current Compass system by Cubic is still clunky! Because Compass is a closed-payment system, having to take it out of my wallet, unlike Octopus card where I can leave it inside regardless of my wallet design, is unacceptable! Because Cubic hired a lobbyist (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dobell-vows-to-remain-lobbyist-despite-guilty-plea/article17981726/), this puts other bidders in an unfair situation and the Compass system quality is not very high quality unlike the Octopus system. The Compass system looks like it has to be scapped soon as the software is quite buggy and the hardware feels and looks like junk. If Thales/Octopus International Projects was selected pretty much riders won’t have too much issues with it and the system would be using FeliCa and NFC (for compatibility with smartphones, smartwatches, and other cards) instead of MIFARE DESFire EV1 where MIFARE uses the common ISO/IEC 14443 while FeliCa uses a different standard yet is still compatible with NFC defined by the NFC forum and ISO/IEC 18092. Also, the current farebox would have been replaced with a nicer more modern advance fare equipment.