New technology and changing social norms are impacting public transportation. "Smart" devices, electric buses and smoking all are being scrutinized by the Capital District Transportation Authority.
It may not be too long before you're able to hop on the bus and pay the fare via your smartphone. Jonathan Scherzer, CDTA's director of marketing, says the process has begun with the installation of new fare boxes that can process "smartcards" and use mobile ticketing apps. "We're in development of a card that will allow people to ride much the same way they do today but offer some nice benefits that we think are gonna help not only our customers but the fleet and our operators and maintenance staff. Today when you buy a rolling swiper pass, you buy that pass, it's using a magnetic stripe and that stripe tracks your information. But if you lose the pass, if it gets defective, there's different steps in that process. With a smart card you've got the ability to register it online, much like you would an EZ pass, let's say. So you're kinda protecting against any loss or theft, you've also got the ability to pre-load, so you're not fumbling with cash. you're not trying to figure out when you're gonna get down to a retail outlet so you can upload more funds or get more cards, it's all done there in the comfort of your own home. It's one of the major benefits of the smart card. With the mobile ticketing app, it's very similar to how people are starting to board airplanes now - you can download a certain product, whether it's a monthly pass or a daily pass, and you'll be able to have a scannable barcode on your phone that the farebox can accept."
CDTA is holding a series of public meetings now through the end of August across the four counties it serves to share information about the changes, which will include modest fare reductions for regular riders.
Forums run from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, July 30, Clifton Park/Halfmoon Library, 475 Moe Road, Clifton Park
- Tuesday, Aug. 5, Uncle Sam Atrium, 4 Third St., Troy
- Thursday, Aug. 7, North Albany Academy, 590 N. Pearl St., Albany
- Tuesday, Aug. 12, Albany Public Library Main Branch, 161 Washington Ave.
- Thursday, Aug. 14, Hamilton Hill Boys & Girls Club, 400 Craig St. Schenectady
- Tuesday, Aug. 19, Cohoes Senior Center, 10 Cayuga Plaza, Cohoes
Scherzer says "The proposal we put out to the public includes a ten cent reduction in the actual day pass, so right now it's $4, right now we're proposing if you ride three times $1.30 each you pay $3.90 and the rest of the day would be free. There's two categories of riders, there's "time period" which is the rolling swiper which we have today, a month at a time or certain time periods, and there's what we call "stored value" basically a debit card where you run down your access."
Scherzer expects CDTA will run the system in "test mode" early 2015 with the hopes of being completely operational by summer. The phone app would also show customers where their bus is on the route and whether it is on time.
Technological improvements under consideration include adding electric buses to CDTA’s fleet. Some manufacturers have rolled models into the city as demos, as the authority researches and evaluates such vehicles .
Meanwhile, the Albany Common Council recently voted unanimously to ban smoking in bus shelters. CDTA already prohibits smoking in shelters and on buses. South End resident and former Albany Common Council member Dom Calsolaro concedes the law will be tough to enforce. "This is just giving city of Albany law enforcement agencies law enforcement power. I think it's one of these things that's gonna be complaint-driven."
Scherzer says it’s incumbent upon other customers to be pro-active to combat smoking. "If a police officer happens to be in the vicinity and seeing it occur, they would receive a $50 fine. But the tricky part is, let's say you're at a shelter with somebody and that person's smoking and you call the police. You know, however long it takes the police to get there, what are the odds of that person still smoking the cigarette when they get there?" Albany Police officials are checking to see if the department has come up with any policy or strategy in line with the new law.
Scherzer adds CDTA routinely addresses other issues, including some of the bus destination signs going blank, scheduling problems, and keeping the website up to date, all with the goal of rider safety, comfort and satisfaction.
