Avenuer
Senior Member
Awesome, that would be on par with what Translink and Metrolinx are currently offering, which is a huge step up from only permitting cash payments for physical tickets in 2021.
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- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
whatchyyc
Active Member
Wow, I didn't realize it was coming so soon. Hopefully we get open payment down here in Calgary soon with our new readers.
Greenspace
Senior Member
Used my new Arc card on the holidays for the bus. Could tap on, but not tap off. I thought you were supposed to tap off as well, or am I totally wrong?
_urbanite
Senior Member
I bought and used my ARC card 2 days ago, had no problem at all tapping on or off. So far so good for me
Individual bus readers can sometimes stop working.
Aaron_Lloyd
Active Member
Speaking of which about 3 out of the last 6 or so times I took the bus the reader has been out of order. On the plus side, free bus ride for me, but seems weird that they're having issues with the system like that.
dkazzed
Active Member
While they encourage you to tap off, in reality the compensation fare for most buses within the city is $2.75. The compensation fare is only higher on bus routes that have local and commuter fare options ie. buses that go to/from the suburbs. And I'm 90% certain the compensation fares count towards the daily and monthly cap. If I was on those buses and one of the readers did not work for tap off, I would go to another one or just e-mail Arc right away.
Greenspace
Senior Member
Ya that was my thinking as well. They're only charging on one time for 90 minutes anyways.
dkazzed
Active Member
Arc Card article on the Transforming Edmonton blog.
transforming.edmonton.ca
Load, tap, go: Arc card tips from transit pros in Edmonton - Transforming Edmonton
Listen to an audio version of this story: Ali Grotkowski doesn’t remember exactly where she was going by bus on the cold day she warmed up to Edmonton Transit’s new Arc card. But she remembers not having to take her mitt off to root around for a bus pass. “I had put my Arc card […]
transforming.edmonton.ca
IanO
Superstar
Stupid question for a guy that has a dumb phone, but do you need the physical card? Given that we are in 2023 and this technology is 20 years old, shall I presuppose that any smartphone can download the ARC app and tap with your phone?
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This is the plan, hopefully it will be rolling out this year.
CplKlinger
Senior Member
I haven't seen any remarks on their end that they're developing an app, but yeah, they did say they hope that mobile devices can be used for payments this year
Greenspace
Senior Member
Also supposed to be rolling out credit card payments as well (without the Arc Card), like every other city. You just wont probably save the money on the trip.
William_L
New Member
Just relating my story of testing out the system and my fight with city hall with overcharges.
I started using it in approximately August 2022 and in one trip I was charged an extra $2.75 three times between St. Albert and Edmonton for not tapping off even though I did tap off. On one trip my original $40.00 balance was at $23.00.
I understand growing pains but what set me off was calling in and <excuse, excuse, excuse> for explanations and no leeway to refund me. So I asked for cancellation and a refund of the balance as I would like to wait until the system improves before using it again. It took almost three months of pestering before I received a paper check from the city! An actual hand signed paper check. They have no ability to refund electronically.
They are not setup to operate in the 21st century. I bought a nice plaque to put the paper check on and mounted it on my office wall.
I started using it in approximately August 2022 and in one trip I was charged an extra $2.75 three times between St. Albert and Edmonton for not tapping off even though I did tap off. On one trip my original $40.00 balance was at $23.00.
I understand growing pains but what set me off was calling in and <excuse, excuse, excuse> for explanations and no leeway to refund me. So I asked for cancellation and a refund of the balance as I would like to wait until the system improves before using it again. It took almost three months of pestering before I received a paper check from the city! An actual hand signed paper check. They have no ability to refund electronically.
They are not setup to operate in the 21st century. I bought a nice plaque to put the paper check on and mounted it on my office wall.
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David A
Senior Member
I am a regular transit user, but there are two big (for me) things putting me off using Arc. First, you have to pay to get the card and then you have to remember to tap off.
If I didn't have to pay to get the card, I would probably be willing to try it.
If I didn't have to pay to get the card, I would probably be willing to try it.