Patco To Test New Bank Card Payment Options
Patco is preparing to offer riders a chance to pay their fares using a credit or debit card as part of a test run of a new electronic fare-collection system.
KYW's Mark Abrams reports that Patco's general manager, Robert Box, said it won't start until January.
Box said Cubic Corp., of San Diego, which installed Patco's current electronic smart-card and gate system (right), will make major upgrades over a period of a couple of months:
"For the first six months, customers would use the prepaid bank cards that Cubic and their partners are going to sell through vendors in the area while they're changing out the readers in our system. And then, for the next six months, customers could use any bank-issued, contactless credit card in the system."
Once the year-long trial is complete, Box says, it's uncertain whether it will continue. He says the transaction fees Patco would have to pay for the contactless (proximity) cards will be a factor in that decision.
