Starting this month, transit passengers in the Comox Valley will use a new electronic system which will improve fare security, reduce fare disputes and collect accurate ridership data.

The Comox Valley is one of several communities across B.C. that are switching to this new electronic system.

The new machines will record data from each fare card, such as product type, boarding time, and bus route 鈥� valuable data that can be used to help determine future changes or improvements for the system.

鈥淭hese new fareboxes are easy to use for riders and more efficient for drivers,鈥� said Comox Valley MLA Don McRae. 鈥淓lectronic fareboxes also mean BC Transit can learn more about passenger travel habits and can use this information to alter routes and schedules that better meet passengers鈥� needs.鈥�

Prior to the installation of the electronic fareboxes, customers simply showed their valid bus pass to the bus driver as proof of payment when boarding a bus.

Now, passholders will be asked to swipe their encoded pass at the farebox when boarding a bus for validation. The method of payment remains the same for customers paying by ticket or cash.

In addition to the Comox Valley, BC Transit systems are launching electronic fareboxes in 11 other B.C. locations including Campbell River, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Port Alberni.

The encoded bus passes are now on sale.

BC Transit systems currently using the new fareboxes are Whistler Transit System and Victoria Regional Transit System. This long-range capital project, budgeted at $6.48 million, will outfit approximately 700 BC Transit vehicles with similar technology. Several other communities will switch to electronic fareboxes later in 2011.

鈥淏C Transit and our local government partners are committed to investing in ways that help build safer, more effective, and more efficient transit systems,鈥� said Manuel Achadinha, president and CEO of BC Transit.

The electronic fareboxes were purchased from Quebec-based Garival Incorporated, Canadian sales representatives for GFI Genfare, a leading maker of bus fare collection systems in North America.

For more information about any BC Transit system, visit www.bctransit.com.

鈥� BC Transit