Automated Fare Collection
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An automated fare collection (AFC) system is the collection of components that automate the ticketing system of a
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
network - an automated version of
manual fare collection Manual fare collection is the practice of collecting fares manually (without the aid of an automated machine). "Fare collection" generally refers to the collection of fares in the transport industry in return for a ticket or passes to travel. Co ...
. An AFC system is usually the basis for integrated ticketing.


System description

AFC systems often consist of the following components (the "tier" terminology is common, but not universal): * Tier 0 - Fare media * Tier 1 - Devices to read/write media * Tier 2 - Depot/station computers * Tier 3 - Back office systems * Tier 4 - Central clearing house In addition to processing electronic fare media, many AFC systems have equipment on vehicles and stations that accepts cash payment in some form.


Fare media

AFC systems originated with tokens or paper tickets dispensed by staff or from self-service vending machines. These have generally been replaced with
magnetic stripe cards The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share ...
. Since their introduction in 1997 with the Octopus card in Hong Kong,
contactless smart card A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via NFC. Commonplace uses include transit tickets ...
s have become the standard fare media in AFC systems, though many systems support multiple media types. More recently, contactless smart cards from bank networks have been seen more frequently in AFC.


Devices to read/write media

These take numerous forms, including: * Ticket office terminals - where a media holder can purchase a right to travel from staff in an office, or enquire as to the value and travel rights associated with the media * Ticket vending machines - where a media holder can purchase a right to travel from a self-service machine, or enquire as to the value and travel rights associated with the media * Fare gate - often used in a
train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
so a media holder can gain access to a
paid area In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...
where travel services are provided * Stand-alone validator - used to confirm that the media holds an appropriate travel right, and to write the usage of the media onto the media for later verification (e.g. by a conductor/inspector). Often used in
proof-of-payment Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a ticket, p ...
systems. * On-vehicle validator - used by a media holder to confirm travel rights and board a vehicle (e.g. bus, tram, train) * Inspector/conductor device - used by staff such as a conductor to verify travel rights Unattended devices are often called "validators", a term which originated with devices that would stamp a date/time onto paper tickets to provide proof of valid payment for a conductor.


Depot/station computers

Used to concentrate data communications with devices in a station or bus depot. Common in older AFC systems where communication lines to upper tiers were slow or unreliable.


Back office

Servers and software to provide management and oversight of the AFC system. Usually includes: * Fare management - changing of fares and fare products * Media management - support for blacklisting of lost/stolen media * Reporting - periodic reports on performance of the AFC system, financial details and passenger movements


Clearing house (Central Management System)

In environments where multiple system operators share common, interoperable media, a central system similar to those used in stock exchanges can be used to provide financial management and other services to the operators such as: * Clearing and settling of funds * Common reporting * Apportionment of revenue between operators


Automated fare collection in Canada

Canada's first public transit agency, the Toronto Street Railway Co., started in 1861 with a horse-drawn streetcar service but it was not until 1912 that the City of Toronto began deliberations on fare collection. It was not until 126 years later (in 1987) that Mississauga Transit became one of the first Transit Agencies in Canada to implement an Electronic Farebox. Since then, almost every major city in Canada has adopted use of electronic fare boxes. Notably, Canada also produces fare collection devices for various transit agencies in North America
Trapeze Group.
located in
Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, currently manufactures and develops high tech fare collection solutions.


Automated fare collection in the United States

The first faregates in United States were installed experimentally in 1964 at Forest Hills and Kew Gardens
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
stations in Queens; the first systemwide installation was on
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
(IC) in 1965 for its busy Chicago commuter service (today's
Metra Electric The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fift ...
.) Financed entirely from private funds, AFC was expected to reduce operating costs by decreasing on-board crew sizes and eliminating station agents at all but the busiest stations. Cubic’s IC system featured entry-exit swipes (NX) to enforce zonal fare structures, checks against fraud, used ticket collection, and ridership/revenue data collection capabilities. It served as a prototype for the San Francisco
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
(BART),
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
(WMATA), and Philadelphia’s
Port Authority Transit Corporation The PATCO Speedline (signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line) is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), which runs between Philadelphia, Pe ...
(PATCO) Lindenwold Line NX-zonal AFC systems. These railroad-style systems required complex computer data processing on faregates or remotely on a central computer, and thus were not suitable for buses. Similar systems are still in use on Japan and Taiwan’s commuter railroads, and the London Underground.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA, ) is the principal public transport operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit ...
(MARTA)’s desire for simpler AFC systems resulted in Duncan (traditionally a
parking meter A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...
vendor) developing turnstile machines for entry-only subway fare collection.
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...
(CTA)’s ChicagoCard, Boston
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA)’s previous generation “T-Pass”, and New York City Transit (NYCT)’s MetroCard systems could all be considered MARTA’s 1977 system’s conceptual descendants. Bus fareboxes had hitherto been much simpler devices, mechanically registering coins deposited on accumulating registration counters. Duncan’s 1973 “Faretronic” farebox was the first to electronically count coins and collect revenue/ridership data by fare class. Keene quickly followed suit, introducing a design meeting
Urban Mass Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
(UMTA) Section 15 reporting requirements, also collecting fuel consumption and bus mileage data.Young, David. The Business of Fare Collection. In Mass Transit Magazine, September, 1977. In New York, mechanical fareboxes were preferred for ease of maintenance until widespread deployment of Cubic's
MetroCard The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...
for buses in 1997. Venerable GFI fareboxes featuring magnetic pass readers requiring cash single fares lasted in Boston until Scheidt-Bachmann’s
CharlieCard The CharlieCard is a contactless smart card used for fare payment for transportation in the Boston area. It is the primary payment method for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and several regional public transport systems in ...
was introduced in 2006.


Examples

This is a list of a few notable AFC systems. (See
List of smart cards The following tables list smart cards used for public transport and other electronic purse applications. File:SingapourMetroCard.jpg, Singapore EZ-Link add value machine File:SL-Access card.jpg, Access card that is used for public transport i ...
for a comprehensive list of AFC and other systems based on contactless smart cards.)


See also

* Calypso, an international electronic ticketing standard, originally designed by a group of transit operators * CIPURSE, is an open security standard for transit fare collection systems


References

{{Public transport Fare collection systems