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riders with TAP cards were not tapping, which meant fares weren't deducted from their cards. "If the gates are locked, you will have to tap," Littman explains. "It's a learning curve for everybody, but we're getting there. People have to get used to doing it." However, in the most recent dem- onstration, Metro saw a signifi cant increase in riders going straight to the TVMs, with transactions increasing from 18% to 22%. Metro currently is in the process of converting the TVMs to TAP media only and is working with students and seniors to ensure that their discount passes are converted. Half of Metro's riders are seniors, students, and Med- icaid recipients, who often have special discount passes. The biggest challenge in this phase, Littman says, is connect- ing with multiple municipal bus op- erators who have different and incom- patible fare media. As part of the process, about a half dozen municipal bus operators have converted to TAP, including the Los Angeles Department of Transporta- tion (L.A. DOT) and Metrolink. "There are a lot of people [who use] Metrolink and transfer to the Metro system, particularly [at] Union Station, so we're working with them to come up with TAP and enabled fare media," Littman says. However, that has taken some time, because there are 16 area bus opera- tors, including Metrolink and Amtrak, that work with Metro as part of an in- tegrated transit system. Littman says that once the gates are locked the convenience of the TAP fare card will be more apparent, because rid- ers won't have to fi gure out which fare media to use, making it easier to ride multiple carriers, such as Metrolink and Metro, in one trip. Another convenience The cost effective automatic fire suppression solution. Simple. Reliable. Firetrace! Over 10 years of proven experience—Firetrace protects more than 15,000 buses with successful saves each month! Utilizing the Firetrace linear pneumatic detection tubing system: s Requires no power for activation—functional 24/7 s Tolerant of dirt, debris, temperature extremes, engine cleaning and eliminates false discharges s Offers simple installation on current or future vehicle purchases s Requires minimal maintenance and eliminates expensive replacement parts s Easily replaces costly, unreliable systems To learn why Firetrace is the right choice for your fleet please call +1 (480) 607-1218 or visit our website www.firetrace.com Visit us at these upcoming events: Annual BusCon Show in Navy Pier, Chicago September 10 – 12, 2012—Booth 96 FIVE Fires in Vehicles International Conference, Chicago September 27 – 28, 2012—Booth 3 Firetrace International, LLC APTA Annual Meeting, Seattle September 30 – October 1, 2012 is if a customer loses their card, they get the fare value returned to them online. However, locking the gates brings on other expenses, Littman points out, primarily monitoring them so they can be unlocked in case of an emergency. When Metro started in 1990 with 4.4 miles of the Blue Line, the agency made the decision not to put in fare gates, but installed the infrastructure at the subway stations so they could add them later. Now, Littman says, Metro has close to 100 miles of track and is adding more lines. "We've gotten to the point [where we're] too big to just go with the honor system," he says. CLOSING THE SYSTEM Faced with an aging fare collection system, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) imple- mented a new system in 2005 and made adjustments to help reduce fare evasion similar to Metro, including becoming a 15690 N. 83rd Way, Suite B · Scottsdale, AZ 85260 USA Tel: +1 (480) 607-1218 · Fax: +1 (480) 315-1316 E-mail: firetrace@firetrace.com · www.firetrace.com SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2012 mETRO mAGAZINE > 89