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PATCO New Automated Fare Collection System,

Smart card or Magnetic- Your choice

PATCOs new fare collection system will feature the FREEDOM card, which will

revolutionize how customers purchase their fares and travel on the PATCO system. TheFREEDOM card is a smart card that will provide a high level of convenience and

reliability to customers who use PATCO consistently. For customers who do not opt touse the FREEDOM card or who use PATCO infrequently, new magnetic tickets will be

available.

In PATCOs current fare system, plastic tickets that use first generation magnetic

technology are used. Although that technology was state of the art several decades ago,

the technology is outdated and the tickets are prone to damage by devices commonlyfound in todays environment. Unlike the current tickets, which are re-encoded

numerous times for use after being captured by the fare gates, the new magnetic tickets

will be paper tickets and will not be reused after capture.

The new magnetic tickets can be purchased using either cash or coins. This

means that customers choosing to purchase a ticket will not have to first stop at a change

machine to convert their bills to coins. Both one- and two-ride tickets can be purchasedfrom all new ticket vending machines located outside the fare gates.

A customer wishing to purchase a magnetic ticket will simply select the prompton the ticket vending machine screen for purchase of a ticket and then select the

destination and whether a single ride or double ride ticket is desired. The ticket vending

machine will list the price of the purchase. Once the customer inserts the fare, the

appropriate ticket is printed with an expiration date, and the ticket and any change that isdue are dispensed. The customer may also request a receipt for the ticket purchase. In

addition, a SEPTA transfer can be purchased at the same time from ticket vending

machines in New Jersey.

The magnetic ticket purchased from the vending machine is then inserted into the

new fare gate upon entering and exiting the system similar to the manner in which it isdone today. If there is a ride remaining on the ticket, it is returned to the customer; if

there are no rides remaining, the gate will capture the ticket.

Another new feature helps the customer who inadvertently purchases the wrong

ticket. That is, if a customer travels to a destination beyond that indicated on his/herticket, he/she may use the vending machine inside the paid area to Add Fare. The ticketis re-encoded by the vending machine upon payment of the additional fare, and then the

ticket will activate the fare gate to allow the customer to exit the station. This feature

eliminates the need to use the Call For Aid phone in such a case.

Continue to read Connections for more fare system news and updates.