Chicago card
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus are contactless smart card
s used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority
(CTA) and Pace
to electronically pay for bus and train fares in the city of Chicago
, Illinois
, USA and the surrounding suburbs.
The blue Chicago Card is a stored value card. Users add value to the card at CTA vending machines or at select retail locations, and turnstiles or fareboxes deduct value from the card. Users usually register cards with CTA and can receive a replacement in the event of theft, loss, or damage to the card.
The blue-and-gold Chicago Card Plus is an account-based card. Users link the card to either a credit card
, debit card
, or employer-provided transit benefit program. The cards may be set up as monthly passes or on a pay-per-use basis. The account reloads from the linked source either when the monthly pass expires or when a user-defined threshold is passed as a pay-per-use card. Because of this direct link to personal accounts, all Chicago Card Pluses are registered to users.
Both cards can be obtained for free from CTA's headquarters and website. Chicago Cards can also be obtained at retail outlets throughout Chicago.
In February 2007, CTA announced that it had settled a class action lawsuit
alleging there were not enough Chicago Cards available to meet demand on January 1, 2006, when the cash fare increase went into effect, but Chicago Card users were charged the old fares.
adopt that system.
Contactless smart card
A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps...
s used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
(CTA) and Pace
Pace (transit)
Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...
to electronically pay for bus and train fares in the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, USA and the surrounding suburbs.
The blue Chicago Card is a stored value card. Users add value to the card at CTA vending machines or at select retail locations, and turnstiles or fareboxes deduct value from the card. Users usually register cards with CTA and can receive a replacement in the event of theft, loss, or damage to the card.
The blue-and-gold Chicago Card Plus is an account-based card. Users link the card to either a credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
, debit card
Debit card
A debit card is a plastic card that provides the cardholder electronic access to his or her bank account/s at a financial institution...
, or employer-provided transit benefit program. The cards may be set up as monthly passes or on a pay-per-use basis. The account reloads from the linked source either when the monthly pass expires or when a user-defined threshold is passed as a pay-per-use card. Because of this direct link to personal accounts, all Chicago Card Pluses are registered to users.
Both cards can be obtained for free from CTA's headquarters and website. Chicago Cards can also be obtained at retail outlets throughout Chicago.
History
CTA's Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system was installed in 1997 by Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., the largest provider of AFC systems in the USA. The AFC system replaced the CTA's tokens with magnetic-stripe stored-value cards printed on plastic or paper. All fare collection and payment equipment was designed to be retrofitted at a later date with smart card readers, a technology that was on the horizon. A small pilot program ("Chicago Gold") for reduced-fare disabled riders in 1999 led to a contract with Cubic to install smart card readers universally in 2000. In August 2000, a more extensive "Chicago Card" pilot program distributed stored-value smart cards to volunteer participants. The pilot program was expanded system-wide in November 2002. The Chicago Card Plus, an account-based card linked to a user's credit or debit card account, debuted in January 2004. "Go Lane" card readers were installed in the buses, starting in 2005, allowing Chicago Card users to bypass the line of passengers using the farebox; although to this day, only one payment can be accepted at a time, eliminating this possible efficiency.In February 2007, CTA announced that it had settled a class action lawsuit
alleging there were not enough Chicago Cards available to meet demand on January 1, 2006, when the cash fare increase went into effect, but Chicago Card users were charged the old fares.
Benefits
Benefits of the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus include the following:- Because it is a contactless card, the card never needs to be removed from its holder, be it a wallet, purse, or backpack. (It may need to be removed if there is another smartcard nearby)
- The Chicago Card can be reloaded at any L stop and many currency exchanges and supermarkets.
- If registered, the card can be replaced.
- The Chicago Card Plus is an account-based system that allows customers to manage their account using the internet and a credit card. For those customers willing to manage their fares in this manner, the Chicago Card Plus can become very convenient.
Disadvantages
- A 30 day pass is only possible with the Chicago Card Plus.
- Unlike many other transit "monthly passes" the Chicago Card Plus only offers a "30 day pass", meaning the pass is active for 30 days regardless of when the account is activated. This card must be loaded twice in most months because of this feature.
- In order to obtain a 30 day pass you must link a credit or debit card account. Reloading at CTA/retail locations is not possible.
- In order to postpone a 30 day pass (even for one day) the entire card must be deactivated and may not be reactivated. (A new card must be activated.)
- The yellow-only Chicago Card is only able to be loaded at specified CTA/retail locations.
- Users are unable to transfer funds between Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus.
- The two cards have very little in common, making it difficult to choose which card to purchase. Some users find themselves possessing both cards depending on their commuting needs/financial situation. This causes riders to spend more money than is necessary in order to maintain the two cards.
- Because the cards are registered to discrete individuals, the CTA can track user movement through the system.
- All cards expire four years from date of manufacture and have to be replaced when they expire. Though the replacement is free there is no expiry date printed on the card and recovering your balance may be difficult.
- The card may have to be taken out of the user's wallet if there is another smartcard close by.
Student Pass
In addition to the blue card, CTA also offers transit cards to students in both grammar schools and high schools. The passes have "STUDENT RIDING PERMIT", the year that the card is active, and the card's expiration date printed on them. The cards can appear in a variety of colors including pink, blue, and yellow. Student Passes can be bought at many schools and allow students to pay $0.85 instead of the standard $2.25 fare. Disadvantages include the possibility that presentation of the passenger's student ID may be required in order for the pass to be honored and that the card is only valid on school days when school is in session (Monday through Friday, from 5:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M., excluding holidays such as Thanksgiving Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, and the two week winter break period including Christmas Day and New Years).Proposed phase-out
The CTA has announced a project to replace the Chicago Card and other fare media with contact-less credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards, issued by a bank, rather than the CTA. There are also reports that the Regional Transportation Authority is planning to require that Pace and MetraMetra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
adopt that system.
See also
- List of smart cards
- Atlanta (the Breeze CardBreeze CardThe Breeze Card is a stored value smart card that passengers use as part of an automated fare collection system which the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority introduced to the general public in early October 2006. The card automatically debits the cost of the passenger’s ride when placed...
) - New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(MetroCard) - Washington D.C (SmarTripSmarTripSmarTrip is a plastic contact-less stored-value smart card used for payment within the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system in Washington, D.C...
) - ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(Chicago Card) - San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
(Clipper card) - Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
(the Octopus CardOctopus cardThe Octopus card is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong...
) - MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(OPUS card) - Greater Toronto AreaGreater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
& OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
(Presto card) - SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
(T-moneyT-MoneyT-money is a rechargeable series of cards and other "smart" devices used for paying transportation fares in and around Seoul and other areas of South Korea. T-money can also be used in lieu of cash or credit cards in some convenience stores and other businesses...
) - ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
(EasyCardEasyCardThe EasyCard is a contactless smartcard system operated by the Taipei Smart Card Corporation for payment on the Taipei MRT, buses, and other public transport services in Taipei since June 2002. Its use has since been expanded to include convenience stores, department stores, supermarkets, and...
) - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(SuicaSuicais a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata...
) - LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(the Oyster CardOyster cardThe Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
) - BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(CharlieCardCharlieCardThe CharlieCard is a MIFARE-based, contactless, stored value smart card used for electronic ticketing as part of the Automated Fare Collection system installed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority at its stations and on its vehicles...
) - Seattle (ORCA CardOrca CardThe ORCA ' Card is a contactless, stored value smart card used for payment of public transport fares in the Puget Sound region...
)