r/Edmonton • u/Mean_Body_638 • 1d ago

General Petition to include Arc card into Google/iphone wallet

I’m just wondering now with the tap-as-you-go feature with credit/debit card, isn’t there an efficient way where instead the arc card can also be integrated into our iPhone/Samsung wallet? It would also be more efficient for students with U-Pass.

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u/Brave_Jackfruit_6963 22h ago

That isnt to just go digital. Its a whole different fare system that will track origin and destination like other cities. Edmonton doesnt even use fare gates, so just going digital for payment isnt gonna be nearly as expensive.

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u/NeatZebra 19h ago

The Vancouver system already tracks origin and destination.

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u/Brave_Jackfruit_6963 18h ago

Thats umo not compass.

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u/NeatZebra 16h ago

Compass does too. They just abandoned tap out on buses because they were unable to get it to operate properly at the time so they made all bus trips one zone instead of putting more money into the problem.

These systems sound deceptively easy until you try to get it to work for absolutely every use case/requirement. Then as your scope explodes you’re running around with every bus holding the full card database at all times with periodic refreshes at the garage or transit centres, running a data line and electricity to every permanent fare reader, counting on fast and reliable data backhaul, extending credit, or trying to communicate the limitations, each which frustrates a different user or adds significant cost.