Chicago Card
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The Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus are contactless smart cards used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace to electronically pay for bus and train fares in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA and the surrounding suburbs.
The blue Chicago Card is a stored value card. Users add value to the card at CTA vending machines or at select retail locations, and turnstiles or fareboxes deduct value from the card. Users usually register cards with CTA and can receive a replacement in the event of theft, loss, or damage to the card.
The blue-and-gold Chicago Card Plus is an account-based card. Users link the card to either a credit card, debit card, or employer-provided transit benefit program. The cards may be set up as monthly passes or on a pay-per-use basis. The account reloads from the linked source either when the monthly pass expires or when a user-defined threshold is passed as a pay-per-use card. Because of this direct link to personal accounts, all Chicago Card Pluses are registered to users.
Both cards can be obtained for free from CTA's headquarters and website. Chicago Cards can also be obtained at retail outlets throughout Chicago.
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[edit] History
CTA's Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system was installed in 1997 by Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., the largest provider of AFC systems in the USA. The AFC system replaced the CTA's tokens with magnetic-stripe stored-value cards printed on plastic or paper. All fare collection and payment equipment was designed to be retrofitted at a later date with smart card readers, a technology that was on the horizon. A small pilot program ("Chicago Gold") for reduced-fare disabled riders in 1999 led to a contract with Cubic to install smart card readers universally in 2000. In August 2000, a more extensive "Chicago Card" pilot program distributed stored-value smart cards to volunteer participants. The pilot program was expanded system-wide in November 2002. The Chicago Card Plus, an account-based card linked to a user's credit or debit card account, debuted in January 2004. "Go Lane" card readers were installed in the buses, starting in 2005, allowing Chicago Card users to bypass the line of passengers using the farebox; although to this day, only one payment can be accepted at a time, eliminating this possible efficiency.
In February 2007, CTA announced that it had settled a class action lawsuit alleging there were not enough Chicago Cards available to meet demand on January 1, 2006, when the cash fare increase went into effect, but Chicago Card users were charged the old fares.[1]
[edit] Benefits
Benefits of the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus include the following:
- Because it is a contactless card, the card never needs to be removed from its holder, be it a wallet, purse, or backpack. (It may need to be removed if there is another smartcard nearby)
- The cost per ride is lowest of the current options for fare payment on CTA, with a charge of $1.75 for a one-way ride on buses and trains and $0.25 for up to two additional transfers used within two hours.
- The Chicago Card can be reloaded at any L stop and many currency exchanges and supermarkets, with a $2 bonus added for every $20 loaded. (The Chicago Card Plus automatically reloads as necessary.)
- If registered, the card can be replaced.
- The Chicago Card Plus is an account-based system that allows customers to manage their account using the internet and a credit card. For those customers willing to manage their fares in this manner, the Chicago Card Plus can become very convenient.
[edit] Disadvantages
- Because the cards are registered to discrete individuals, the CTA can track user movement through the system. The CTA actively discourages unregistered card acquisition.
- The cards are susceptible to damage if bent.
- Information on the cards is stored in a proprietary format owned by Cubic Transportation Systems, leaving the system vulnerable to vendor lock-in. Furthermore, the Cubic standard is not as flexible and programmable as more modern smart card technologies.
- The card may have to be taken out of the user's wallet if there is another smartcard close by. http://www.chicago-card.com/ccplus/faq.aspx#category7
