UTA Introduces a New Way to Pay for Ski Bus

UTA Introduces a New Way to Pay for Ski Bus

In its 30th year of service, 41 ski buses prepared for hi-tech future

Salt Lake City, December 7, 2006–After 30 years of providing ski bus service, The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will begin accepting “contactless” debit and credit cards as payment for its service. At a Dec. 7 kick off, UTA and industry leaders will launch an electronic fare collection pilot making it quick and easy for passengers to ride ski buses. The pilot program allows customers to use contactless debit and credit cards as payment as well as resort-issued season ski passes, employee identification cards and Ski Salt Lake Superpasses during the 2006–07 ski season. UTA will be the first transit agency in the nation to implement the new contactless debit and credit card payments on transit buses.

“This pilot will streamline the boarding process for ski bus passengers and simplify their riding experience,” said Craig Roberts, UTA project manager. “We anticipate this demonstration will point the way for future UTA fare collection and fulfill our commitment to providing our customers with the latest technology.”

The pilot will benefit riders by simplifying and speeding up the boarding process, allowing riders to simply touch their card to a reader at the front of the bus. The pilot also allows UTA to evaluate the convenience that contactless technology offers customers and provide better service by monitoring ridership and pass usage for future route planning.

UTA has worked with partner agencies on an accelerated seven-month time period to design, manufacture and install the system in test laboratories and on buses. Approximately 100,000 cards will be issued as part of this pilot.