OPUS card
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OPUS is a rechargeable, dual interface (contact/ contactless) stored-value smart card using the Calypso Standard and is used by major
public transit 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, typic ...
operators in
Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with ...
and
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Quebec, Canada. It complies with the
ISO/IEC 14443 ISO/IEC 14443 ''Identification cards -- Contactless integrated circuit cards -- Proximity cards'' is an international standard that defines proximity cards used for identification, and the transmission protocols for communicating with it. Standa ...
standard for smartcards, and can be read by smartphones with an NFC antenna. The name of the card in French, ''Carte OPUS'', is a pun on the word in French for smart cards with embedded chips, ''carte à puce''.


Fares

An advantage to the smart card compared to the previous system is the seamless integration with other transit networks of neighbouring cities. Another advantage relates to the speed at which users can access the system. As opposed to the
magnetic stripe card 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 ...
s previously in use, the contactless smart card is more user-friendly in that the card does not risk becoming demagnetized and rendered useless, and also does not require patrons to slide the card in a particular way — proximity to the contactless reader will suffice. A disadvantage is that a new card costs $6. The cards expire after four years, and there is no charge for replacements. One card can contain up to four different kinds of fares. For example, an OPUS card can contain an STM monthly pass, 10 STL tickets, 6 CIT Laurentides tickets, and 2 train tickets for Exo zone 5, or both individual STM tickets and a weekly or monthly pass). Unlike other transit cards, such as Presto (Ontario) and
Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...
(Metro Vancouver), the OPUS is not a stored-value system. The appropriate fare is deducted when paying at any machine, in a similar fashion to PayPass, and daily, weekly, and monthly passes are used before individual tickets. The main goal behind the creation of this card was to reduce
fare evasion Fare evasion or fare dodging, fare violation, rarely called ticket evasion, is the act of travelling on public transport without paying by deliberately not buying a required ticket to travel (having had the chance to do so). It is a problem in man ...
in the province's transit systems. The card is available at various points of sale where local transit fares are currently sold. Re-filling stations can be found at Montreal Metro stations, train stations, and Exo bus terminals, as well as from specified retailers where local transit fares are sold. Costs to the STM related to the project were approximately $138 million, compared to the original estimated cost of some $100 million. The project was originally supposed to be implemented in 2006. The OPUS card has been widely criticized for its lack of stored-value capability and being able to only load four types of tickets/passes simultaneously, which significantly reduces the capability and flexibility that would otherwise be gained with a stored-value system.


Rollout phases

* Q2 2008 – Testing with employees of transit authorities and select groups of testers. * Q2 2008 – Deployed for users of the RTL only. * Q4 2008 – Deployed for students on all STM, STL and RTL as well as
Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
TRAM users. * Late Q4 2008 – Deployed for all regular fare users of all three transit authorities as well as Exo TRAM users. * Q2 2009 – Start of deployment for users of CIT systems. * Q2 2010 – End of deployment for users of CIT systems. In preparation for this new step in Montreal's public transportation network, turnstiles that incorporate the reader and vending machines were installed in Metro stations; buses had previously been fitted with new fare boxes that incorporate the card reader, in order to ensure the uniformity of methods of payment across Montreal’s transit network and that of its suburbs.


Participating transit authorities


See also

*
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 ...


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opus Card Public transport in Quebec Montreal Metro Exo (public transit) Société de transport de Montréal Contactless smart cards Fare collection systems in Canada