My Alerts Montréal, February 29, 2012 – OPUS cards will turn four next April, and that anniversary marks the beginning of a gradual replacement period, as they have an expiry date just like any other credit card. OPUS cards have made millions of public transit passenger rides in Québec a lot easier since it was first introduced in 2008. In the Greater Montréal area alone, OPUS cards are scanned over 1.2 million times each day ! Following the card manufacturer’s recommendation aimed at upholding the card’s reliability, participating public transit authorities agreed from the start of the project in 2008 to set the card’s service life at four year, a period that is consistent with industry standards. OPUS card holders in the Montréal area can go to www.carteopus.info starting tomorrow (March 1) for more useful information. In Québec City, the information campaign is scheduled to begin in mid-April.
As such, public transit authorities throughout Québec, namely the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), Société de transport de Laval (STL), Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC), Association québécoise du transport intermunicipal et municipal (AQTIM) and Société de transport de Lévis (STL), will initiate a vast communications campaign aimed at informing transit users of how to replace their card, at no extra cost.
Replacing one’s card: mandatory, yet free of charge
OPUS cards must be replaced because, once they have expired, they will no longer give access to buses, the métro or commuter trains. As the expiry date does not appear on the unregistered card (without photo), but is rather encoded on the chip, transit users are invited to go to the above OPUS card website to check when their card is due to expire. It’s a quick and simple operation. They can also use the card reader on a fare vending machine or reloading terminal. If they go to an authorized vendor (dépanneur, pharmacy or other), they can have their card scanned and get a receipt indicating the expiry date. Transit users can also contact the customer service department of their service provider or go to any metropolitan (AMT) ticket counter, or to one of the STM’s service centres at Berri-UQAM, Jean-Talon, Honoré-Beaugrand, Lionel-Groulx or Côte-Vertu metro stations or the one at Fairview Terminus. Customers can have their card replaced within 90 days of the expiry date, free of charge, at any metropolitan ticket counter or service centre. If it is not replaced, it will be deactivated on the 91st day and will no longer work. In that case, card holders will have to pay to use public transit (even if their card still holds valid fares), otherwise they may receive a notice of infraction.
Transit user can have their card replaced at no cost at any STM service centre or metropolitan ticket counter. However, should they go to an authorized retailer (convenience store or pharmacy), they will have to pay $6.00 to obtain a new card. That sum will be refunded to them upon presenting their expired OPUS card and their purchase receipt for the new one, at any one of the STM’s six service centres or AMT ticket counter. STM and STL customers can also receive their refund by mail.
Since April 2008, some 3.5 million OPUS card were issued in Québec. Together, in 2012, the various public transit authorities will replace nearly 250 000 cards: about 190 000 by STM, 25 000 by RTC, 16 000 by AMT, 10 000 by RTL and another 8 000 by STL. Some of the card’s components will be recycled and any plastic that cannot be recycled will offered to groups specializing in the re-use of such materials.
Why not take this opportunity to register your OPUS card?
The various public transit authorities will also use their communication campaign to encourage their customers into registering their OPUS card so that they may recover any remaining transit fares, should their card be lost, stolen or damaged.
A very positive report
The introduction of the OPUS card was a resounding success in Québec. It made work a lot easier for employees in charge of fare control, while also making it easier for transit users, as their card could accommodate hundreds of different fare cards. With a single card, transit users can now use as many different networks as they want. Hard to imagine how people managed before ! Public transit authorities in Québec can take pride in having one of the highest percentage of people buying into the system, as nearly 990% of passenger rides are paid for with an OPUS card. Customer satisfaction is also quite hitgh, at 90% in the Montréal area, and 93% in the Québec City area. Thanks to smart card technology, public transit authorities were able to significantly improve the purchase experience and use of fare cards while promoting greater fare flexibility. While it also safe-guarded fare revenues for them, usage of the card also helped considerably to reduce fraud. For the STM, this represents about $12.7 M for 2011.
Finally, the implementation of this project will have required investments of some $217 M, of which 75% was funded by the government of Québec. The project also represented one of the biggest challenges facing the transit authorities. Without a doubt, the OPUS card has helped position public transit as the modern and efficient way of transporting people and, thanks to its technologies, opens the way to further development!
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