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Consumers' preference for using plastic instead of cash is prompting the Allegheny (Pa.) County Transit Authority to implement by the end of 2010 a cashless smart-card system using contactless technology. The transit agency also is exploring potential partnerships will local merchants to accept the card as payment for good and services, a program similar to the Octopus card in Hong Kong. "We haven't really decided on one different way" the cards can be used outside of transit, an authority spokesperson tells CardLine sister publication ATM&Debit News. The new system also will help the authority combat fraudulent paper transit passes used with the current system. "With the advances in computer technology, it's very easy to create a fraudulent pass and use it on the system," the spokesperson says. Last month, the transit agency told its contractor, Scheidt & Bachmann USA Inc., to begin upgrading buses with new fare boxes. The authority also operates a 25-mile light rail system called the T. More than 69,000 commuters use the authority everyday, according to the agency's Web site. The authority will conduct a pilot in early 2010 using company employees, transit advisory members and possibly University of Pittsburgh students, the spokesperson says.
