FAN Smart Cards are not so smart

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
Hyo Jung Shin waits for her bus and fl ashes her FanCard, which she will show the bus driver when they arrive.

Fanshawe College students returned to a slightly different system for boarding buses this year.

Or at least that was the plan.

The London Transit Commission began on-site testing of an electronic fare program in April, one that would theoretically do away with the money-and-paper system currently employed by the commission.

But the $3.2 million-plus provincially funded project, awarded in 2011 to Scheidt & Bachmann, a German-Canadian company specializing in fare collection systems, is now mired in technical issues.

LTC currently estimates a tentative release date of fall 2014 for the Smart Card technology, but drivers and students alike have been under the assumption the new program would be up and running sooner.

“[The Smart Card technology] was supposed to start in September but, they’re having problems implementing software with the hardware,” said an LTC driver who did not want to be named. “When it starts to work you won’t have to even take out your card, just tap.”

Still, be prepared to show your card for a while – neither drivers nor school officials know when the new system will be fully functional.

Students expressed mixed first encounters with the Smart Card technology.

“My first day, when I stepped on the bus I just show [the FAN card] and the bus driver told me to tap it,” said Makey Shvedov, a Computer Systems Technician student. “I couldn’t figure out where to tap. It was kind of awkward ... but then he showed me [the card reader] and then I figured it out.”

Despite this, Shvedov enjoys the simplicity of the new card, pointing out the system’s wallet-friendliness. For thousands of first year students, they’ll only have the new streamlined cards as their first experience, not the previous bulky paper- and-plastic sleeve system.

“I’ve had no problem with the drivers, I just show [my card],” said Jennifer Harris, a first-year Science Laboratory Technologies student.

Students also expressed surprise when told their bus pass was tax-deductible and easy to claim.

Despite the electronic overhaul, Carol Blazer, FSU administrative services manager said getting the paperwork hasn’t changed – students will still receive a printable receipt on FOL during the tax season.

Though no one currently has promotions for showing the new FAN card, Blazer said it is up to businesses to implement any incentives.

While meal plans, print funds and exam ID are still functions of the card, another new role includes integration with the health plan, eliminating another paper card previously given at the start of each semester.
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