SPECIAL SECTION:
FA R E
Cash is here to stay BUSRide presents the fourth in a four-part series on “Fare Collection Systems.” Each segment highlights the benefits and addresses the downside of various modes of fare collection -- from openloop fares to proprietary cards, non-reloadable tickets, cash and tokens.
PART FOUR: CASH AND TOKENS
Cash and tokens remain a viable form of fare payment despite advances in open-loop and smartcard technology. For America’s unbanked population, it’s the only way to pay for public transit. This month spotlights Crane Payment Solutions, Diamond Manufacturing and Osborne Coinage. Crane Payment Solutions manufactures the interior components of a cash-based farebox, including bill validators and coin dispensers. Diamond Manufacturing designs cashpayment fareboxes for a variety of operations. Though their orders are small, the ability to customize for specific needs is valuable. Osborne Coinage crafts custom coins, medals and medallions. They currently have 45 agencies buying tokens for transit use.
20
February 2013
Crane Payment Solutions offers bill and coin validators and recyclers for transportation operations worldwide
By Bassam Estaitieh Crane Payment Solutions (CPS), Concord, ON, Canada, a vendor of cash payment systems for the global transportation market with offices worldwide, designs and manufactures bill validators and recyclers, coin validators and recyclers as well as coin dispensers with both transit operator benefit and rider experience in mind. Unlike other fare box manufacturers, CPS does not design the physical fare box. Rather, it provides the cash payment devices inside the fare box to companies such as Genfare for integration into the system to accept bank notes as well coins and tokens. As customers board the bus, they insert their tokens, coins or bank notes into a fare collection box. The box has the capability to alert the driver if the amount of the inserted fare is correct or incorrect.
CPS also manufactures higher-end recyclers for ticket vending machines (TVMs) that are typically installed at bus stations. The billto-bill 300XE bill recycler is showing great success in public transportation worldwide, with both train and bus segments adopting the technology. The CPS bill recycler is soon to be installed in ticket vending machines at bus stations in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
European advantages CPS enjoys strong ties with the European transit market, one of the most advanced in the world. Company leaders who operate globally find the U.S. a bit behind some European countries in terms of transportation technology. In regard to cash payment systems, the clear trend in European TVMs is the adoption of bill recycling to help reduce the
The BV is a free-fall bill validator from Crane Payment Solutions, used for integration into a bus fare collection system. The BV’s form factor and unmatched performance makes it ideal for fare boxes, where space is severely constrained.
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