BART Unveils Modern Fare Gates and New Ticket Vending Machines.

Business & News Editors/Transportation Writers

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2002

BART officials yesterday (Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002) unveiled the first of the transit system's new ticket vending machines, the linchpin of BART's plan to replace all Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) equipment in the 30-year-old system, itself a part of BART's 10-year, $1.2 billion Systemwide Renovation Program. New fare gates, also part of the AFC Modernization Program, had already been installed, tested and put in revenue service at the Concord Station.

The fare equipment was developed jointly by BART and Cubic Transportation Systems of San Diego, specifically for BART. The ticket machines are state-of-the-art with an ATM-like interface that was chosen because the public has become accustomed to ATMs, automatically making them user-friendly. The $54 million contract with Cubic includes 314 ticket vending machines at an average cost of about $45,000 each; 578 fare gates (at a cost of $15,000 to $43,000 each, depending on the type), and 148 add fare machines at a cost of about $41,000 each.

Overall, BART is spending $99.5 million to modernize the AFC system throughout the existing 39-station transit system and install it in the four-station extension to San Francisco International Airport and Millbrae.

The ticket machines offer several new features and optimum flexibility.

-- a programmable customer interface that uses a large VGA display that can use text and graphic instructions

-- The ticket vending machines can issue multiple tickets in one transaction. That means a patron could insert a $20 bill, purchase three $5.80 round trip tickets from Concord to the Oakland Coliseum Station for an A's or Raiders game, and in return get three tickets and $2.60 in change.

-- They are controlled by a single PC that drives every function in the equipment through easily modified software; the original, 30-year-old BART ticket vending machines used hardwired logic that could only be modified through physical redesign and replacement of hardware.

-- The new ticket vending machines have smart card interfaces, for future use in the regional smart card program.

-- They eventually will accept credit and debit cards.

-- They issue plastic tickets that are more durable and moisture proof than the old paper tickets. The new fare gates also accept plastic tickets.

-- The new ticket vending machines will dispense both BART-blue (regular) and BART Plus tickets.

-- Because they are software-oriented, new features can be downloaded, either on site or remotely through the new Data Acquisition System (DAS, which is also part of the overall $99.5 million AFC modernization program). This includes modifications to dispense different combinations of coin and paper money denominations.

-- The new far gates are equipped with single programmable message displays for both standard and variable messages, as well as smart card targets for future use in the regional smart card program.