Cards, 2-hour bus passes to replace tokens, transfers

Tokens and transfers will soon be a thing of the past on Spokane Transit Authority buses.

Come Dec. 4, they will be replaced with two-hour tickets and smart cards, when STA starts using new fare boxes on its buses after a Dec. 1-3 free ride.

Riders can start trading in tokens for two-hour passes Saturday at the STA Plaza and on Monday at the Bus Shop at STA’s Boone Avenue headquarters. They can be traded in until Dec. 1 of next year.

STA Chief Financial Officer Jim Plaster said that about 23,350 tokens are sold each month. After decades of sales, another $437,000 worth of tokens is floating around somewhere in the area.

“We know that there are a lot in circulation that will never come back,” Plaster said. “They’re in someone’s drawer or even at the bottom of the river.”

Some tokens have been around since the days of the Spokane United Railway, he added.

But metal is being replaced by paper.

The new two-hour tickets will allow riders to change buses and even travel in two different directions provided they do so within the two-hour time period. Day passes are good for unlimited travel during the day they are purchased.

Both can be purchased at the time they are needed from bus drivers or in advance at ticket vending machines or from STA customer service. They are activated and time-stamped the first time they are used aboard a bus.

The new fare machines being installed on the buses will be on display starting Nov. 1 in the Plaza, said STA Plaza director Mark Curtis.

That will give riders a chance to get used to them before they actually have to use them, said STA CEO Susan Meyer.

“It’s funny how intimidating the fare box can be,” said Meyer.

In another new way to pay come December, riders will be able to load new smart cards with any amount of money — along the lines of a gift card. The value is then deducted as they are used aboard buses.

Even better, if a card gets lost its owner isn’t out the total value, as he or she would be now when a monthly pass is lost.

“They can register the card, so if they lose it, we can reissue it with that value reinstated,” said Curtis.

One hitch: Unless riders want another $1 deducted when they transfer to another bus, they’ll have to request a two-hour ticket from the driver on the first bus.

Smart cards won’t be available until Nov. 21. A $2 set-up fee will be waived until Jan. 5, 2007. There is no fee to reload the cards.

Starting early next year, ticket vending machines will be located at the Plaza, the Valley Transit Center and the Five Mile Park and Ride. Bus riders can use the vending machines to buy day passes, two-hour passes and reload their smart cards. All will accept credit and debit cards, and the Plaza machine will also take cash.

Monthly passes will still be available at the current $33 adult and $26 youth prices.

With all the new fare cards and tickets, some people may wonder if cash can still buy a bus ride.

The answer is yes, except for pennies.

You’ll just have to throw those in the STA Plaza fountain and make a wish.