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Go-To card
The Go-To card is a contactless smart card used to pay fares for bus, light rail, and commuter rail lines operated by Metro Transit and other transit agencies in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The system has significantly sped up boardings on area buses while alleviating wear and tear on existing ticket machines and fare boxes. The old magnetic strip reading machines were weather sensitive and could not be placed out in the elements like at the Hiawatha Line light rail stations.
The Go-To card went into full operation in early 2007.
The Go-To card was originally meant to go into service in September 2003 and become the first such system in the United States, but technical difficulties delayed introduction. Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. worked under a contract valued at $16.4 million (equivalent to $26.7 million in 2024), but Metro Transit stopped payment at $9.4 million in May 2003 when it became apparent that the rollout would be behind schedule.
Cubic Transportation Systems initially promoted this system as the first contactless smart card installation in the country, but since introduction was delayed, at least one other system in the U.S. went into use ahead of the Go-To card. While traditional smart card systems require the card to be swiped through or inserted into a reader, the Go-To card requires a passenger to tap it against the reading device. This reduces mechanical wear dramatically, and removes the need for readers to be hardened against the sometimes cold and wet climate of Minnesota. Ticket machines on Metro Transit's Blue Line were designed with the Go-To card in mind.
Before this system was sent into full release, some Metro Transit employees and selected area riders were part of a test program, started in the latter half of 2004, using the cards as they go about their daily business. In November 2004 after five months of service, Metro Transit's general manager stated that the devices only achieved 20% reliability.
Cubic said that the issues that were originally delaying introduction were software problems. Frequently, either the reader or the card did not properly detect when it has been used. Software for the central computer system, which handles synchronization and how funds are replenished, was not fully operational until late April 2005. In March 2006 Metro Transit sent Cubic a letter of default demanding a plan to correct issues with the 2+1⁄2-year-delayed system.
The underlying technology is Philips' MIFARE system, implementing the ISO/IEC 14443 (Type A) standard.
In November 2005, Metro Transit allowed 18,000 trial users to begin using the Go-To card system, with hopes of rolling out the cards to all users by the fourth quarter of 2006.
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Go-To card AI simulator
(@Go-To card_simulator)
Go-To card
The Go-To card is a contactless smart card used to pay fares for bus, light rail, and commuter rail lines operated by Metro Transit and other transit agencies in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The system has significantly sped up boardings on area buses while alleviating wear and tear on existing ticket machines and fare boxes. The old magnetic strip reading machines were weather sensitive and could not be placed out in the elements like at the Hiawatha Line light rail stations.
The Go-To card went into full operation in early 2007.
The Go-To card was originally meant to go into service in September 2003 and become the first such system in the United States, but technical difficulties delayed introduction. Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. worked under a contract valued at $16.4 million (equivalent to $26.7 million in 2024), but Metro Transit stopped payment at $9.4 million in May 2003 when it became apparent that the rollout would be behind schedule.
Cubic Transportation Systems initially promoted this system as the first contactless smart card installation in the country, but since introduction was delayed, at least one other system in the U.S. went into use ahead of the Go-To card. While traditional smart card systems require the card to be swiped through or inserted into a reader, the Go-To card requires a passenger to tap it against the reading device. This reduces mechanical wear dramatically, and removes the need for readers to be hardened against the sometimes cold and wet climate of Minnesota. Ticket machines on Metro Transit's Blue Line were designed with the Go-To card in mind.
Before this system was sent into full release, some Metro Transit employees and selected area riders were part of a test program, started in the latter half of 2004, using the cards as they go about their daily business. In November 2004 after five months of service, Metro Transit's general manager stated that the devices only achieved 20% reliability.
Cubic said that the issues that were originally delaying introduction were software problems. Frequently, either the reader or the card did not properly detect when it has been used. Software for the central computer system, which handles synchronization and how funds are replenished, was not fully operational until late April 2005. In March 2006 Metro Transit sent Cubic a letter of default demanding a plan to correct issues with the 2+1⁄2-year-delayed system.
The underlying technology is Philips' MIFARE system, implementing the ISO/IEC 14443 (Type A) standard.
In November 2005, Metro Transit allowed 18,000 trial users to begin using the Go-To card system, with hopes of rolling out the cards to all users by the fourth quarter of 2006.