Port Authority buses in Pittsburgh, Penn. will start getting new fare collection boxes this summer as it prepares to implement a cashless smart card system. The transit agency has told its contractor, Scheidt & Bachmann USA Inc., to begin upgrading buses with the fare boxes, which will include equipment to read and process the smart cards, rechargeable passes similar to debit cards that can be swiped at the fare box.
The current fare boxes are nearly two decades old and accept only cash or paper tickets.
Because the new cards will require additional software programming and testing, that part of the system won’t be fully operational until late 2010, said an authority spokesperson. The new boxes would still take cash. The system could be extended to other regional transit agencies, allowing the same card to be usable on other buses.
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