Tap and Go
By GWEN MURANAKA
RAFU ENGLISH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Saturday, February 28, 2009

Jane Shohara Matsumoto of Metro explains the new electronic fare card.

Photos by MARIO G. REYES/Rafu Shimpo
Jane Shohara Matsumoto of Metro holds a TAP resuable electronic fare card. The new cards will replace paper commuter passes starting March 15.

The TAP cards work with new bus fare machines.

Starting next month, TAP will be the operative word in public transpor­tation in Los Angeles. Jane Shohara Matsumoto has spent the past decade developing the automated fare card or Transit Access Pass (TAP) as the deputy executive officer of the Re­gional TAP Operation for Metro.

In the Metro headquarters in down­town Los Angeles, Shohara Matsu­moto explained that the new TAP cards will make travel in Los Angeles easier and more efficient. As project man­ager, Shohara Matsumoto oversaw the technical design and replacement of Metro’s 2,600 bus fare boxes and over 600 ticket vending machines with new smart card technology.

“This whole project was a vision of our policymakers to remove barriers to public transportation,” explained Shohara Matsumoto. “Riders currently have to worry about carrying exact change and knowing the fare. With one card it removes at least one barrier for people to have more convenience and not have to worry about the fare structure, you just tap and go.”

Starting on March 15, Metro will start to replace paper passes currently being used for their buses, subways and trains. To promote the use of the new system, Metro will provide complimentary TAP cards to customers who do not already have one when they buy a $5 day pass until April 11, or until supplies run out, according to Metro. After that, the plastic cards will cost $2 each. The rechargeable cards, which have been used in other cities for decades, will be sold at vending machines.

A pilot program began in 2006 at UCLA and the goal is for the entire transit system to be converted to TAP by this summer. While the equipment is in place, Shohara Matsumoto said the next step is getting the message out to the community, particularly seniors. To that end, she said they would be coming to senior centers, including in the Japanese American community, to help convert paper passes to the new electronic card.

“We’re going to bring a portable mobile cart and it’s going to be like a traveling store and we’ll have all the computer equipment at senior centers to provide passes on the spot,” said Shohara Matsumoto.

An advantage of the TAP card over paper she explained is that they are safer than paper passes.

“If you lose a paper pass today you’re out of luck, but if you have a TAP card that’s registered, if you lose it and report it you get the value of the card restored to you,” she said.

The goal eventually, will be to have the TAP card used to link other Southern California regional transit agencies such as Gardena and LADOT.

“If you ride Metro, but you also ride Torrance, or Culver City or Gardena, in the future you can use this one card,” said Shohara Matsumoto.