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This Month

SANDAG newsletter provides information on key projects
& services
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Draft 2007 RTP workshops scheduled for July
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SANDAG unveils Super Loop station designs rule
Compass Card update
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Connect to 511 for transit, traffic, and commute informationrule
Vanpool. Your passport to freedom.
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RideLink program good medicine for Sharp hospital rule
American Community Survey data released rule
SANDAG projects receive awards
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SANDAG Board Actions available online
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   the rEgion
 

Compass Card update Compass Card

Using public transit in the San Diego region will get a lot easier with the introduction of the Compass Card — an innovative, plastic “smart card” designed to streamline and expedite fare collection. San Diego joins a select group of metropolitan areas in this merging of public transit and technology. The public launch is scheduled for the fall of 2007.

Adding to the ease of use for operators and customers will be the program’s highly-anticipated creation of a universal, regional fare collection system for the San Diego region’s seven fixed-route bus and rail operations. The technology also will allow the area’s transit operators to collect enhanced ridership and revenue data.

Compass Cards will be accepted on most Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) or North County Transit District (NCTD) Bus, Trolley, or train services. The embedded smart card technology will allow riders to have their fares validated simply by touching the card to a specially designed ticket vending machine or fare box.

Cardholders can purchase day and monthly passes and store them on the Compass Card, and eventually will be able to load cash value onto the cards – even linking them to a checking account to ensure automatic renewal. Because a card is registered to a specific user, if it is ever lost or stolen, it is simply deactivated and a new one is issued.

The current plan is to rollout the Compass Card in stages, beginning with a summer 2007 test phase conducted by NCTD, MTS, and SANDAG employees, to ensure optimum performance and customer satisfaction. This stage of implementation will be followed by extensive public testing and the initial public release in the fall of 2007. If you would like to participate in the public testing phase, please contact James Dreisbach-Towle at jdr@sandag.org.

As part of the Compass Card rollout new ticket vending machines have been installed at COASTER and Trolley stations around the region. The new vending machine screen flows are designed to be less intimidating and transaction times are expected to be faster. COASTER tickets automatically will be time-stamped and validated by the ticket vending machines, eliminating the need to validate tickets in the orange validator device. All new vending machines will dispense Compass Cards after the public launch in fall of 2007.

More information, including a list of frequently asked questions, is available at www.compasscard.org.

Project Manager:
James Dreisbach-Towle, Integrated Information Systems Administrator
jdr@sandag.org, (619) 699-1914