I forwarded the discussion to Suzan Forsberg from Metro Commuter Services and she subsequently forwarded it to someone in Metro Transit and here is the definitive policy:
Joe, Here is the reply I received from the Director of Marketing for Met Council. You may share it with the person making the inquiry: ************************************** The following fare media will be acceptable for use on the Hiawatha LRT when it opens June 26. > cash - purchase a single ride ticket from ticket vending machine > 31 Day Pass - if the pass has been initiated on a bus and has the valid dates printed on the back > Rail Pass - new monthly pass good for unlimited rides on LRT anytime and on buses. If used on a bus the Rail Pass will be valued at $1.25. If the bus fare is more the user must pay the difference in cash. This would be used by riders who need to start their trip on rail and primarily use the rail to commute. It will cost $40 per month. > Metropass - acceptable as long as expiration date shown on card has not passed > UPass - acceptable as long as expiration date shown on card has not passed > Stored Value Card - NOT ACCEPTABLE if you start your trip on rail. If you pay your fare on the bus first and then transfer to rail you will ask for a Rail Transfer and can then ride rail with a Stored Value Card and the Rail Transfer. The Rail Transfer will be good for 22 hours so you can use it for your return trip on rail and then pay your fare when you transfer to the bus. If you haven't noticed the pattern above, the reason that a Stored Value Card - and for that matter a 31 Day Pass that has not been used on a bus first - cannot be used to start a trip on the rail is that there are no magnetic strip readers on the rail platforms. So in otherwords there is no way to deduct a fare from the Stored Value Card at a rail plateform. The other items - 31 Day Pass, Rail Pass, Metro Pass, UPass - all have dates printed on them so a fare inspector can see they are valid. A Stored Value Card does not use dates. This issue will be taken care of when the new Go To Card and Go To Card Readers (contactless smart card) come online later this year. It will hold both 31-Day Passes and Stored Value Cards on a smart card and the cards will be read by Go To Card readers on the rail platforms and on buses. Until that time, you will need to use one of the methods above to ride the train. ***************************************** Suzan Caution: This e-mail and attached documents, if any, may contain information that is protected by state or federal law. E-mail containing private or protected information should not be sent over a public (non-secure) Internet unless it is encrypted pursuant to DHS standards. This e-mail should be forwarded only on a strictly need-to-know basis. If you are not the intended recipient, please: (1) notify the sender immediately, (2) do not forward the message, (3) do not print the message and (4) erase the message from your system. _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
