Bus travelers in Michigan will get smartcards as part of a new upgrade to the system
As part of an upgrade to bus travel in the Willoughby, Ohio area, smartcards will be made available to commuters on the bus lines operated by Laketran, according to a report from the News-Herald.
The company will make the plastic cards available for sale on its website beginning August 13. The smartcard will be reloadable, allowing bus travelers to deposit as much money on the card as they choose. The card is being sought a replacement for its previous coin-payment process, which had been criticized for inconvenience. Laketran will begin a test-run of the cards this week, in an effort to retrieve user feedback and alter the plastic cards to fit the needs of bus travelers.
The smartcards are part of an overall adjustment to the company’s bus operations in the area. The card program will be funded by the $130,000 Laketran received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will also pay for a new bus stop near the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, Ohio.
Across the globe, smartcards have been introduced to make bus travel more convenient as well as more secure. Last week, smartcards were issued to school bus travelers in Dubai to monitor the number of students entering and exiting the buses.
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