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Contactless Transit Smart Cards

On my first trip to Washington D.C. in August of 1990 I rode their Metro subway system. Even back then you could buy a card you’d swipe that would deduct the appropriate fare from your balance. It was quick and convenient because riders didn’t need to buy tickets each trip.  Daily riders could buy a monthly pass, but for less frequent riders this was wonderful.

Fast forward to today and technology has come a long way. Metro Saint Louis has been installing new equipment to prepare for a smart card system here.

On our recent trip to Chicago we each bought a new “Ventra” card to ride Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses:

Introducing Ventra, a convenient new payment system for the CTA and Pace that allows customers to pay for train and bus rides with the same payment methods they use for everyday purchases. Customers can easily manage their accounts online and choose from several different contactless payment methods:

  • Ventra Card: a transit + optional Debit MasterCard® that can be used for transit and everyday purchases
  • Ventra Tickets: single-ride and One-day passes
  • Personal, contactless, bank-issued credit and debit cards can be used for transit
  • Eventually, compatible smartphones

With Ventra, travel throughout the Chicago area is more convenient and efficient than ever before.

We didn’t buy them in advance, I just went in to the CVS* two blocks from our hotel. Each card cost $5 but after registering by phone or online that becomes transit credit. When purchased I added $5 to each. Spent $10/card for $10 of transit credit per card.

My online Ventra statement
My online Ventra statement

I loved being able to check my balance online and see a history of the bus routes we rode.  Like St. Louis, a one ride trip is $2, but their transfer is just 25¢ compared to $1 here. But pricing is getting off the subject…

We didn’t see anyone paying cash or swiping older reader cards, making boardings very quick. Here many customers, myself included, pay with cash. The Ventra system launched in Chicago last year, more on that shortly.

I’ve been wanting to try a smart card system for a while now but it wasn’t until we were on our last bus ride to Union Station that I felt like I got the hang of just how to tap the card in front of the sensor to get it to register. Previous rides I thought I had it but the driver would tell me to try again. Part of my problem was trouble seeing the screen from a seated position in my wheelchair. We both had trouble at first, but imagine every rider having trouble. The Ventra launch didn’t go smoothly:

 Compared to other smart transit systems, Ventra is logging a fairly negative public review. Unlike Ventra, Boston’s contactless electronic CharlieCard system faced no huge bouts of complaints upon implementation in late 2006 and early 2007. In fact, despite minor problems, customers lauded the system. (Chicago’s New Smart Cards Make Commuting Even Harder – Mashable, December 2013)

This fall, you see, after a series of delays, the city brought online a new fare payment system called “Ventra” in which customers tap “smart cards” against electronic readers at bus entrances and train station turnstiles. Only it turns out these cards are not so smart. Half the time, tap after tap after tap, the damned things don’t work, and the bus driver just exasperatedly waves you through. Although it hasn’t been as much fun for the passengers who exited the bus through the front door and discovered that, if their purses or backpacks brushed too close to the reader, they were charged twice. (Chicago’s ‘Smart Card’ Debacle and Privatisatiom – The Nation, December 2013)

Pace, suburban Chicago’s bus system which is separate from the CTA is now online with Ventra. Metra, the commuter rail system will be next. Once Metra is accepting the Ventra card, commuters using the three separate transit systems in the greater Chicago area can finally pay using the same card, rather than manage separate forms of payment for each.

In St. Louis, Metro is working with Madison County Transit on the smart card system for our region. Hopefully they’ve learned from the mistakes made in Chicago.  I don’t know if the cards used in St. Louis can do double duty as pre-paid debit cards. In Chicago’s system you can also use a contactless credit/debit card. I’ve never been offered such a card before,  but I think they’ll become more common in a few years.

Each smart card has an embedded computer chip that can hold passes and cash value. Unlike most credit cards, smart cards are not magnetic and do not require “swiping.” Equipped with antennae, the cards allow contactless communication so customers can simply wave or tap the card on the validator or farebox. Validators at MetroLink stations will respond with a green light and fareboxes on board MetroBus will beep to indicate the fare is accepted and has been deducted from the card. (Metro)

— Steve Patterson

* Full disclosure: I’m a own a few shares of CVS

 

Sidewalks In Chicago

Last weekend my fiancé and I went to Chicago for a 3-day weekend. I’ve been numerous times since my stroke 6+ years ago, including last August, but each of those visits was by car with me as passenger or driver. This trip we took Amtrak so I could use my wheelchair since our primary reason for going was to see the Chicago Auto Show. I know here in St. Louis my chair can easily get stuck in just a tiny amount of snow so I was nervous about going to Chicago where they had lots more snow. As soon as we exited Chicago’s Union Station I realized how much Chicago values all modes of travel: auto, bike, bus, foot, chair.

Sidewalks, roads, ADA ramps connecting sidewalks and crosswalks were all cleared.
Sidewalks, roads, ADA ramps connecting sidewalks and crosswalks were all cleared. This photo taken at Harrison & Wabash, click for map.
A protected bike lane on S. Dearborn was cleared of snow.
A protected bike lane on S. Dearborn was cleared of snow.
All the bus stops/shelters had been cleared as well allowing us the use various CTA bus lines
All the bus stops/shelters had been cleared as well allowing us the use various CTA bus lines

You might be thinking “Sure, in the Loop. What about in the neighborhoods?” Friends picked us up for dinner Saturday night, driving us for Lebanese at Semiramis, located miles away from downtown at 4639 N Kedzie Ave.  The sidewalks, ramps & crosswalks were also cleared there.

— Steve Patterson

 

 

Remembering A Fall Day In Wine Country

January 10, 2014 Featured, Travel 1 Comment

Being stuck inside for days is making me a bit stir crazy. We drove to Culinaria on Tuesday, but riding in a car from one parking garage to another isn’t the same has being outside. When this happens I go back and look at look at photos at warmer times.

In late October my boyfriend and I rented a car and did a one day tour of the area around Augusta MO.  Come  along…

The Daniel Boone Home and Heritage Center was our first stop.  Click image for website.
The Daniel Boone Home and Heritage Center was our first stop. The house was built by Boone’s son between 1803-1810. Click image for website.
I couldn't physically tour the Boone home so I stayed at the gift shop in the carriage house on the right.
I couldn’t physically tour the Boone home so I stayed at the gift shop in the carriage house on the right.
This was our view at lunch on the deck at Montelle Winery.  Click image for website.
This was our view at lunch on the deck at Montelle Winery, looking west toward Augusta. Click image for website.
We drove past my favorite house in Augusta, a tiny little place right on the street corner. Augusta was funded in 1836, click image for the Wikipedia entry,
We drove past my favorite house in Augusta, a tiny little place right on the street corner. Augusta was funded in 1836, click image for the Wikipedia entry,
We enjoyed beer & live music on the terraced Bier Garden at the Augusta Brewery. Click for website.
We enjoyed beer & live music on the terraced Bier Garden at the Augusta Brewery. Click for website.
The view at Mount Pleasant Estates, click for website.
The view at Mount Pleasant Estates, click for website.
In Washington MO we went  down next to the Missouri River. Click to view Washington's tourist website
In Washington MO we went down next to the Missouri River.
Click to view Washington’s tourist website
New townhouses on Front St in downtown Washington, click for website.
New townhouses on Front St in downtown Washington, the development also includes some storefronts, click for website.
Dinner was comfort food at Cowan's Restaurant in downtown Washington MO, click for website
Dinner was comfort food at Cowan’s Restaurant in downtown Washington MO, click for website

It was a long and exhausting day, a great memory to help me cope with being stuck at home. This was a perfect day trip for the fall colors but it’ll be nice this spring & summer.

— Steve Patterson

 

Day Trips Are A Nice Getaway

A week ago my boyfriend and I thought it was such a nice day, we should go do something.  We’d bought a Living Social voucher for two to see the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford IL, just a 30 minute drive north on Route 3.

This post is about the wonderful day trip that we ended up having through several counties in Illinois, two ferry rides, and returning to Missouri through St. Charles County.

As you approach the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower
As you approach the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower
Cyclists on the trail on top of the levee
Cyclists on the trail on top of the levee
From the top level of the tower (150 feet high) you get a great view of the confluence of the Mississippi & Missouri rivers.
From the top level of the tower (150 feet high) you get a great view of the confluence of the Mississippi & Missouri rivers.
We didn't stop in Alton but we stopped just north to see the Piasa, click image for more info
We didn’t stop in Alton but we stopped just north to see the Piasa image on the limestone, click image for more info
The Village of Elsah is one of my favorite stops along the River Road, click image for more info
The Village of Elsah is one of my favorite stops along the River Road, DFS liked it too!  Click image for more info
We took the scenic drive through Pere Marquette State Park, click image for more info
We took the scenic drive through Pere Marquette State Park, click image for more info
On the Golden Eagle Ferry from Calhoun Co IL to St. Charles Co MO
On the Golden Eagle Ferry from Calhoun Co IL to St. Charles Co MO

We both took many more pictures on our 5+ hour unplanned adventure. I say unplanned because I didn’t think beyond the Tower, we barely had enough cash on us for the mixed berry cobbler at The Cultured Table Bistro in Elsah plus the ferry into St. Charles Co, the Brussels Ferry is free.

We had a great day for very little money! We’re in Springfield IL this weekend, but later this fall I’m going to the DFS on a wine country tour through Augusta & Washington. What’s your favorite day trip from St. Louis?

— Steve Patterson

 

A Sign That Was Worth Saving

September 7, 2013 Featured, Travel 2 Comments

Sometimes a sign is worth saving, in Tulsa just such a sign was worth the trouble & expense. Plus the building it sat on too!

In the 1930’s, Meadow Gold put it up atop a small building at 11th and Lewis. It was a beacon along Route 66 until sometime in the 1970’s. “It’s more than just a sign, it lives in people’s hearts and memories it truly is a landmark,” said Lee Anne Ziegler. A few years ago the owner of the building on which the sign rested decided to tear the building down. The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture and others mounted a sign rescue project. They got a grant from the National Parks Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. They were able to take the sign down and begin restoration. Other grants and donations helped finish the project. (source)

Former Meadow Gold Dairy building was relocated, used as an open-air Route 66 marker.
Former Meadow Gold Dairy sign & the building it was located on were relocated, now used as an
open-air tribute to Tulsa’s Route 66 history.
Inside kiosks offer information on Meadow Gold Dairy, Route 66, the relocation & restoration process, and Tulsa's connection to the famous route
Inside kiosks offer information on Meadow Gold Dairy, Route 66, the relocation & restoration process, and Tulsa’s connection to the famous route
Center of the floor
Center of the floor
Downtown Tulsa a couple of miles to the west on East 11th Street
Downtown Tulsa a couple of miles to the west on East 11th Street

I took these images in September 2009, about 5 months after this opened. I had decided to drive Route 66 from the Oklahoma border to Oklahoma City, much more interesting than I-44.

The new location is 9/10th of a mile west of the original. I like the sign and the windowless building, makes an interesting stop for those seeing Route 66 sites.

— Steve Patterson

 

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