I think it's really important to hold back and implement this slowly. That was one of the most important decisions we made. |
If you touch your card to the fare vendor to start the transaction, put $20 in and then forget to close the transaction by putting the card within 3 inches of the target, the system will automatically take note of your mistake and send you a fare credit of $20 to add to your card. So basically what we've got is a very customer-friendly, highly secure, very flexible, very convenient system. |
The technology is there, it's just a matter of getting merchants and customers to use it. We've got 1.5 million people in this area that at any time hold our fare media, so we think that's the critical mass that's needed to jump-start its acceptance. |