Casper Area Transit inches closer to implementing new electronic fare system this summer

Kaden Cochran told the Casper City Council about the changes during a work session at its temporary chambers at The Lyric, 230 W. Yellowstone Highway.

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper Area Transit is getting closer to putting its new electronic fare system fully into effect this summer, its new manager said.

Kaden Cochran told the Casper City Council about the changes during a work session at its temporary chambers at The Lyric, 230 W. Yellowstone Highway.

In May, Casper Area Transit issued a press release about rolling out the new E-fare system for its door-to-door and fixed-route services. The Casper City Council approved the electronic system for bus fares last fall.

An E-Pass will replace the current ASSIST — door-to-door service — ticket and the Scan Pass will replace the current LINK — fixed-route service — token. The new system will better help customers and eliminate extra expenses and handling processes. Customers won’t need to continually buy non-reusable tickets and won’t have to deal with lost or unrecovered tokens. 

Cochran reviewed that and noted other benefits of the new system.

Cochran said the biggest reason for the transition is to capture better data in real time such as ridership among older adults, disabled persons, students and general ridership as required by the Federal Transit Administration for federal funding. That will help Casper Area Transit better make decisions for riders about bus stops, shelters and benches, he said, adding that will save a lot of time.

There’s also a hygiene matter.

COVID-19 heightened concern about cleanliness, Cochran said. Before tokens were returned to circulation, Casper Area Transit staff had the time-consuming task of hand-washing them, but that won’t be necessary with the new electronic ticket system.

The reloadable electronic fare system benefits bus patrons for several reasons, according to the May press release:

“We want to streamline the process for our patrons so once the pass cards are established to reload, then it’s relatively quick,” Cochran said. “We don’t have to keep track of anything. It’s one card, it fits in your wallet.”

Patrons can keep the card on their person and they don’t need to worry about whether they have enough tokens.

The new system will also eliminate the abuse of tokens such as when people find them on the street or steal them, Cochran said. With the new system, people can report a stolen pass, and Casper Area Transit staff can de-activate it and issue the patron a new one while transferring unused rides, he said.

Councilor Gena Jensen noted that social media blew up over an article about the new system, with commenters suggesting that everybody needed to buy a smartphone. Cochran rejected that inference, and said riders do not need to buy a smartphone or other technology.

All they need to do is go to the Casper Area Transit office, 1715 E. 4th St., to apply for the e-pass, he said.

Another rumor was that all riders needed to provide financial information, Cochran said. However, the only time that is necessary is if someone is applying for a subsidy to use the e-pass.

Casper Area Transit began transitioning LINK buses to the Scan Pass this month. It planned to accept current LINK tokens through July 31, but has extended that deadline to Aug. 31.

The May 1 press release said Casper Area Transit will no longer disburse paper tickets for the ASSIST bus and no longer accepted them after May 31.

Riders can transfer any outstanding ASSIST tickets or LINK tokens to their E-Pass or Scan Pass if they turn them in with proof of purchase to the Casper Area Transit office. Casper Area Transit granted credit for these outstanding fares until the end of June for ASSIST tickets and until Aug. 31 for LINK tokens.

For more information, contact the Casper Area Transit office, 1715 E. 4th St., at 307-235-8261, 307-235-8214 or www.casperareatransit.org.