Casper Area Transit to Implement Electronic Fare System for ASSIST and LINK Buses

Casper Area Transit is transitioning to a new electronic fare system for the ASSIST and LINK buses. An E-Pass will replace the current ASSIST ticket and the Scan Pass will replace the current LINK token

Casper Area Transit, both ASSIST (door-to-door service) and LINK (fixed route service), will soon begin using the electronic fare system for bus fare, as approved by Council last fall.

Casper Area Transit is transitioning to a new electronic fare system for the ASSIST and LINK buses. An E-Pass will replace the current ASSIST ticket and the Scan Pass will replace the current LINK token, in order for Casper Area Transit to better help its customers and also to eliminate extra expenses and handling processes from continuing to purchase non-reusable tickets and continually lost or unrecovered tokens. The electronic fare will also allow for more accurate data collection, which is required by the Federal Transit Administration for purposes of federal funding.

The reloadable electronic fare system will be beneficial to the bus patrons for various reasons. Specifically, if someone loses their Scan Pass, they can notify the Transit office, and all remaining fares on the pass will be able to be saved and transferred to a new pass. Whereas currently, if one loses their fare, or it is stolen, there is no way to recover that lost fare. Another benefit is that currently the Casper Area Transit system does not allow for month passes for any timeframe other than a monthly pass for the current month. The new Scan Pass will allow for a 30-day pass that will be effective from the date it is purchased, and multiple 30-day passes may be purchased so riders will not have to come to the Transit office to purchase their pass every month. A benefit specifically to the ASSIST riders is that the pass will be an E-Pass, so riders will not be required to have a pass on them, and the possibility of loss or theft will not be an issue. In addition, the need for the tickets to be passed from the caregiver to the rider and then the driver, will not be necessary.

Paper tickets for the ASSIST bus are no longer being disbursed and will not be accepted after Friday, May 31. The LINK buses began transitioning to the Scan Pass on July 1, current LINK tokens will continue to be accepted through Wednesday, July 31. Any outstanding ASSIST tickets or LINK tokens can be transferred onto the patron’s E-Pass or Scan Pass, if the tickets/tokens are turned in to the Casper Area Transit office, along with proof of purchase. The timeframe for receiving credit for these outstanding fares will only be for the month after that particular fare is no longer accepted, i.e. August 31st for LINK tokens.

If you have additional questions about the transition to the electronic passes please contact the Casper Area Transit office, 1715 E 4th Street, by calling (307) 235-8261 or (307) 235-8214, or by visiting www.casperareatransit.org.