Metrobus Transit Study.pdf - City of St. John's

St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus) 2011
Market Assessment and Strategic Directions Study – Part B: The Past and Present – Understanding Ridership Trends
The M-Card system has many advantages that the previous paper monthly pass and 10-ride ticket
system did not. The M-Card streamlines the process of collecting fares when passengers are
boarding a bus, there is an ease of use in buying and reloading the card at one of the seven
convenient locations or at the user’s convenience online. Also, a passenger can either purchase a 10-
ride ticket, a monthly pass or a 30-day pass. The 30-day pass is not tied to purchases at the
beginning of a month. Unlike the monthly pass, the 30-day pass is activated when the card is
purchased or reloaded (which could occur anytime during the month). From then it is valid for 30
days. This benefits passengers by allowing them to use the pass when they need it, not being
restricted to use during a calendar month. This also benefits Metrobus and pass sales offices as it
reduces the influx of pass sales during specific periods (i.e. the end of a month) experienced by most
transit systems. M-Card also offers a rewards program that allows users to accumulate points that
can then be redeemed to make purchases from the Metrobus rewards catalogue. Metrobus staff are
considering the possible phase out of the monthly pass and a move towards the 30-day pass only.
The online community survey, the CNA student survey, and the Memorial University student survey
queried respondents on their usage of and opinions of the M-Card. The results were quite positive
as outlined below:
Online Community Survey
78 percent of respondents use M-Card to pay for their trips;
52 percent of transit users are “very familiar”, while another 36 percent are “somewhat”
familiar with the M-Card;
Only 36 percent of non-transit users are “not at all familiar” with the M-Card; and
When asked to rate the convenience of fare (i.e. M-Card), 36 percent of respondents rated it
“excellent”, while another 45 percent rated it “good”.
CNA Student Survey
81 percent of respondents use M-Card to pay from their trips;
61 percent of respondents are “very familiar”, while another 31 percent are “somewhat”
familiar with the M-Card; and
When asked to rate the convenience of fare (i.e. M-Card), 36 percent of respondents rated it
“excellent”, while another 38 percent rated it “good”.
Memorial University Student Survey
30 percent of respondents use M-Card to pay from their trips;
45 percent of respondents are “very familiar”, while another 30 percent are “somewhat”
familiar with the M-Card; and
When asked to rate the convenience of fare (i.e. M-Card), 31 percent of respondents rated it
“excellent”, while another 43 percent rated it “good”.
As mentioned in Section 4, there have been some instances where there has been a lag time
between the customer reloading their card on-line and it registering on buses. In these situations, the
user claimed to have filled the card that day, but the M-Card system did not recognize this. This is
not an error, but the process given the existing M-Card technology and the potential lag is
communicated to M-Card users via an online agreement when a passenger refills or purchases their
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