Stratford council looking at adding electronic-fare option on city buses

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The City of Stratford could soon be adding an option to pay electronically on city buses.

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Stratford council looking at adding electronic-fare option on city buses Back to video

At Monday’s community services committee meeting, councillors voted unanimously to recommend the implementation of an optional electronic transit-fare system through HotSpot, the city’s current mobile parking payment application.

“Transitioning to electronic fare is only just another option,” Stratford transit manager Mike Mousley said at Monday’s meeting. “The fare box isn’t going away. We’ll still accept cash. You’ll still be able to buy paper tickets. You’ll still be able to buy the paper, 30-day pass. This is just another option, especially if it’s late at night and you maybe can’t get a ticket or a pass because some of the vendors are closed.

“If you have your mobile device with you, you’ll be able to load up into your (virtual) wallet a fare that you can show the bus operator when you get on board.”

According to Mousley’s report, HotSpot can add an electronic bus-fare system for Stratford transit to the same mobile application the city rolled out last summer, which allows drivers to pay for parking in Stratford from their smart phone or other mobile device. Since HotSpot generates revenue through 20-cent transaction fees charged to the user, the additional electronic bus-fare features will, if approved by council, come at no cost to the city.

HotSpot will also provide back-office system, client and customer support, as well as initial signage at no additional cost to the city.

Through the app, which can also be accessed through the City of Stratford website using any web browser, users can simply add a credit card to deposit funds in their digital wallet and top up their virtual balance.

With the funds in their digital wallet, users can purchase rides and bus passes. Once purchased, they simply press the red “Board Bus” button on their app as their bus approaches and then show their phone screen to the driver. Once the button is pushed, the fare will be considered active or paid for 15 minutes.

According to Mousley, HotSpot’s electronic-fare system offers safe and secure transactions, gives users the option to purchase bus fares, tickets and passes from their phones anywhere and at any time, and gives bus riders the opportunity to plan out their trips since the app will estimate walking time to the customer’s closest bus stop, the length of the ride and the walking distance to their destination.

In his report, Mousley also noted that traditional paper bus tickets, passes and transfers are becoming relatively expensive, with the city paying roughly $40,000 a year in printing costs.

Council will vote on whether to implement HotSpot’s electronic bus-fare system on city buses at its next meeting.

gsimmons@postmedia.com