Dear Philadelphia
Exact change and pockets that sound like Jingle Bells are a thing of the past...
via Philadelphia Daily News:
Philadelphia, the last major American city where transit riders line up to pay cash for tokens, is on the verge of getting a high-tech fare system that will make riding SEPTA as easy as using E-ZPass on the turnpike.Welcome to the 21st century! What was once one of the biggest head-scratchers to anyone visiting Philadelphia from another big city has finally halted. By 2011, the Southeastern PA Transportation Authority (SEPTA) hopes to have replaced the outmoded tokens it should have been using since the turn of the millennium, with "a smart card, embedded with an "electronic-purse" computerized chip, fed by an online account". I for one am happy as a hippo for this one. Philly, since when has antiquarianism been the mark of a new city? The last time I checked, the Lancaster Amish weren't at the forefront of the world's advancement. Also, what was with the pricing? Which Einstein (or Franklin; I'll give Philly some shine) decided that $2.90 was an appropriate price for 2 tokens? It's like SEPTA wants to waste your time, making you find exact change and then fiddle with the little plastic bag they put the tokens in. Seriously, where was this thinking in Philly 12 years ago, when New York started using Metrocards? Not to say that every city can be the bastion of technological advancement that New York is (ahem), but this ridiculous. The real question about this move though, is, will jumping the turnstiles get easier or harder?
Or as easy as riding public transit in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Seattle, where smart cards have replaced tokens, and long lines for tokens, and discovering too late that you don't have exact change for tokens and the toll-booth attendant doesn't make change for tokens and you're stuck.