This spring, PRTC Executive Director Alfred Harf has been reaching out to customers via PRTC’s Rider Express subscription service to answer questions and comments. This is a compilation of all past messages in that series. ---------------------------------- Message from 5/31/2011 – SmarTrip® As you may know, for the past several weeks I’ve been answering questions that were generated by the recent quarterly on-board and online survey. Today’s topic is SmarTrip®. SmarTrip® is the rechargeable electronic farecard used by many of the transit agencies in our region, including PRTC and WMATA. By accepting a standard farecard, transit agencies make it easier for commuters to travel because they don’t have to worry about having exact change – whether for one mode of transportation or for multiple buses and/or trains – or worry about having adequate money on separate farecards. Electronic farecards also help to reduce boarding time because passengers simply tap their card instead of feeding money into the farebox. Passengers frequently want to know what’s coming next for SmarTrip®. I’m pleased to say there are several improvements planned for the near future. Of course, because WMATA is the lead transit agency in the Washington Metropolitan Region, they are the first to roll out new products. Once the technology is proven on WMATA trains and buses, the partnering agencies in our region, such as PRTC, follow behind. Because of this arrangement, I can’t provide specific dates for these improvements, but rest assured that they are in the works. SmartBenefits Autoload About 2/3 of the passengers on PRTC’s commuter bus services receive the federal transit benefit known as SmartBenefits, which provides up to $230 per month to encourage people to share their commute. Currently, those who receive SmartBenefits must download the benefit to their SmarTrip® card at a Metrorail Passes and Farecards Machine. With the new SmartBenefits Autoload feature, the SmartBenefits will automatically become available when the SmarTrip® card is used – passengers won’t even have to push the Add Value button on the farebox! This feature is being rolled out on an employer- by-employer basis, and some riders have experienced the change already. The roll-out should be completed over the next several months. Credit Cards Passengers occasionally ask why they can’t use credit cards on PRTC buses – either to load value onto their SmarTrip® cards or by using the contactless Radio Frequency ID (RFID) chip in the card to pay their fares. First, PRTC buses are not equipped with credit card readers, so anyone who needs to add value to their SmarTrip® card at the farebox must do so with cash. However, credit and debit cards are accepted at locations with a SmarTrip® value-loading machine, such as the PRTC Transit Center. Second, because WMATA was among the first to use contactless Smart Card technology, RFID technology for credit and debit cards was not widely available at that time. WMATA and the regional carriers plan to move in that direction in the future. OmniLink Pass Products Another long-anticipated improvement to the SmarTrip® system is the introduction of discounted weekly passes for OmniLink passengers. The new passes, which will be launched in FY 2012, will allow unlimited rides on OmniLink and Cross County Connector buses for seven consecutive calendar days at a discounted price. The weekly pass will help passengers who are frequent riders save money and help to reduce boarding time because passengers will simply tap their card instead of feeding money into the farebox. In addition, when SmarTrip® passes are introduced in FY 2012, PRTC will move its existing daypass to the SmarTrip® card. Currently, passengers pay cash for a paper pass that allows unlimited rides for one day on OmniLink and Cross County Connector buses. Passengers keep the paper daypasses with them and show it to the bus operator each time they board to prove that they have already paid their fare. In the future, a SmarTrip® card will be required when purchasing a daypass. Moving the daypass onto the SmarTrip® card is expected to be more secure for passengers who are less likely to lose the electronic fare card than a thin slip of paper, reduce fraudulent use of daypasses, and reduce PRTC’s printing costs. I hope this message has helped you learn more about SmarTrip® and the improvements that are planned. Although today’s message is the final in the current series, you will continue to hear from me in the future to address topics of interest to PRTC’s customers. Regards, Alfred Harf Executive Director ---------------------------------- Message from 5/23/2011 – Emergency Service Plan (ESP) Hello and welcome to the sixth in a series of messages answering questions generated by the recent quarterly on-board and online survey. Today’s topic is PRTC’s Emergency Service Plan (ESP). When an emergency situation will impact PRTC’s ability to serve its passengers, the ESP is implemented. Usually, bad weather and road conditions prompt PRTC to put the ESP into effect, but it also may be implemented for general emergencies, such as when major roads are shut down, or for regularly scheduled events such as the National Christmas Tree Lighting. Under the ESP, OmniRide buses make most of their regular local stops but travel only to and from the Franconia-Springfield and the West Falls Church Metrorail stations. If the weather changes during the day, PRTC may implement the ESP for afternoon commuter service, even if regular service was operated in the morning, or return to regular service. However, when the ESP is implemented on OmniLink buses, it is in effect for the entire day and all off-route trips are cancelled. When the ESP is implemented with no advance warning, PRTC does not charge passengers a fare. If there is advance notice of the event, OmniRide passengers pay the Metro Direct bus fare (since they’re receiving Metro Direct-like service) and all other passengers pay regular fares. We sometimes hear comments from OmniRide passengers who travel to/from areas not impacted by an emergency situation who wonder why we can’t serve their stops. The reason is that consistency is the key to ensuring that the ESP operates as smoothly as possible. When the ESP is in effect, our regular OmniRide passengers know that OmniRide buses will not travel to the Pentagon, Crystal City, Rosslyn, D.C. or Tysons Corner, just to name a few locations, and instead will serve only the Franconia-Springfield and West Falls Church Metrorail stations. If we made exceptions to that policy, it would create confusion among passengers who would wonder if their stop was affected by this particular emergency and prompt a flurry of phone calls to our Customer Service agents. Also, if PRTC staff had to evaluate multiple ESP alternatives, it would take longer to determine which one to implement, slowing decision-making and communications when time is of the essence. Moreover, by running our commuter bus service only to and from the two Metrorail stations, PRTC can continue operating service without stretching available equipment and bus operators beyond their capabilities. Of course, our goal is to provide our passengers with full service whenever possible. But when emergencies occur, our aim changes a bit and instead we try to provide passengers with the safest, most efficient, and clearly communicated transportation possible under those challenging conditions. Look for the final message in this series next week. Regards, Alfred Harf Executive Director ---------------------------------- Message from 5/16/2011 – Manassas/Gainesville Commuter Service and OmniLink Off-Route Trips Hello and welcome to the fifth in a series of messages answering questions generated by the recent quarterly on-board and online survey. Today’s topics are PRTC’s future plans for commuter bus services in the Manassas/Gainesville area and why OmniLink buses sometimes go off the standard route. Manassas/Gainesville Commuter Services PRTC has had plans to offer direct service to D.C. from Gainesville for quite a while, but has been unable to do so because of financial constraints. However, PRTC’s Planning Department has figured out a way to add this service in FY 2013 without requiring a large additional subsidy from Prince William County. How is this possible? Through a combination of shifting existing resources and securing additional federal formula funding stemming from the use of the recently-extended HOV lanes on I-66. Planning staff conducted surveys on all Manassas area OmniRide and Metro Direct trips in May and June of 2010. Based on these surveys PRTC staff determined that not only was there interest in a Gainesville- Washington service, but that a substantial number of Manassas OmniRide passengers actually live in Gainesville, Haymarket or other areas to the west but drive to Manassas to board the bus. There also are riders on PRTC’s Linton Hall Metro Direct service who would prefer a one-seat ride into D.C. rather than having to transfer to Metro at West Falls Church. The surveys further indicated that this new service would capture enough of the current ridership to allow PRTC to slightly reduce the number of trips serving the Manassas OmniRide and Linton Hall Metro Direct routes and shift those resources to a new Gainesville-Washington OmniRide service. This will help to offset the cost of the new service and allow PRTC to offer residents of western Prince William a more convenient ride to their destinations. I’ve referred to additional federal formula funding as part of what makes this plan possible, and that deserves further elaboration. The additional federal formula funding is a consequence of the fact that the I-66 HOV lanes were recently extended to Route 29.