September-October_2021 - 41

solutions are opportunities to inspect
fare policy and fare equity
decisions, especially as a way to
respond to riders coming back to
public transportation, " said Sara
Poulton, head of services, Masabi.
While these modernized
products will benefit many riders,
Saskatoon Transit emphasizes it
will maintain onboard cash payments.
But something that could
benefit everyone is the fare capping
feature that could be rolled
out in a later phase.
" That will be tied to the fare
review, which will be about an
eight-month public engagement
where we'll meet with the public
and do a complete review of
our fare products and pricing, "
Shrigley explained. " Then that
will prepare us for setting some
new fare rates and open the door
for fare capping. "
Along with the possibility of
new fare products, the new fare
payment system also provides Saskatoon
Transit with more accurate,
real-time data, informing the
agency to make better decisions
such as providing better services
or offering the right fare products.
Part of this means making it easier
for people to access the products
they need.
" We envisioned [the new
fare payment system] to create
new partnerships with leisure
services with other city departments,
where we could see perhaps
a loyalty card or some sort
of a package that will involve a
transit pass. The door is opening
for us to make a transit pass more
readily available to everyone in
the city, " Davis said.
To Travel Seamlessly
and Conveniently
with HOLO
The Department of Transportation
Services (DTS) for the city
and county of Honolulu recently
eliminated all paper passes as it
completed its transition to the
HOLO card. HOLO, a Hawaiian
word meaning to travel, is an
" Getting key user
groups involved in the
transition helps build the
grassroots confidence in
the new [fare] solution. "
-SARA POULTON,
head of services,
Masabi
senior cards and fixed-route
disability cards to HOLO cards
over the past two years, and a new
HOLO card will come July 1, 2022,
since the city council approved a
new low-income fare.
The HOLO card can also be issued
as payroll deductions or subsidized
cards by HR departments
via a website for local government
agencies and businesses.
" HR [departments] in these
account-based ticketing system
with a smart card where information
is stored on a central system.
For now, the card can be used on
the fixed-route bus system.
" We also plan the HOLO card
to be a strategic card for Honolulu.
We are committed to trying to ultimately
expand into parking and
a few other things that are related
to public transportation, " said J.
Roger Morton, director, DTS.
There are also hopes to expand
the system to the paratransit service,
as well as the fixed guideway
rail system that is expected
to open in 2022, creating seamless
transfers between transportation
modes. The rail system will only
be accessible with the HOLO
card, which fueled the timeline
and decision to eliminate paper
passes and rollout HOLO cards
to different groups of customers.
For example, DTS has been
transitioning its reduced-fare
organizations can manage those
cards themselves. We see it as
another area where we can make
continued inroads. We've got most
of the major employers, the hotels,
the banks, the hospitals, but we haven't
got them all, " Morton said.
More convenient fare offerings
are just one benefit. DTS has also
implemented fare capping for
its daily and monthly passes, as
well as reinstating free transfers,
which had been eliminated due
to complexities of paper passes.
The new HOLO system has been
embraced by bus operators since it
is a much simpler fare structure.
" Prior to this, we had probably
about 35 different fare instruments
that drivers had to keep
track of. And now, they don't
have to worry about that little obscure
type of fare that they only
see once a year or something like
that, " Morton said.
Ultimately, Morton says his
goal is for the system is to go completely
cashless, but he notes this
is years away and would require
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 41
DTS
PRIOR TO
eliminating
paper passes,
DTS displayed
messages on its
bus head signs
and provided
onboard audio
announcements.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
September-October_2021

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