Metro Denver transit riders dealing with changes to the Regional Transportation District’s MyRide smart card system as fare collection resumed on Thursday will be granted some leeway for the rest of September, the agency said.
During fare-free August, RTD upgraded , changing from selling reloadable cards to using online accounts that are more secure. Those accounts, with preloaded balances, can be connected to the updated RTD MyRide ticketing app, which displays a QR code to scan, or to a new version of the MyRide card.
But the first day of September, riders with old MyRide preloaded cards found they didn’t work with new validators that are being installed inside RTD’s buses and on its train platforms. At the same time, customers with new online MyRide accounts — including riders who transferred their old cards’ balances — found they couldn’t scan their app’s QR code on the old validators that remain in many places.
RTD spokesman Austin Nettleton said that until the agency finishes a conversion of all validators across the system, riders who run into either kind of mismatch will be allowed to board without charge for the rest of the month. RTD says it has communicated that leeway policy to fare inspectors.
The agency also will continue reaching out to old cardholders to urge them to transfer their balances to new accounts, he said.
Nettleton said more than half of buses have had new validators installed, while nearly half of train platforms have had their validators upgraded.
The system changes haven’t affected EcoPass and CollegePass cards, which work with both old and new validators. Riders also can still buy mobile or paper tickets, day passes and multiple-ride booklets that come with a discount.
The updated MyRide prepaid system comes with a trade-off: Users are losing their per-ride fare discount, but RTD is introducing fare-capping. That means the system will track a rider’s usage over time and automatically upgrade them to regional, daily or monthly passes when they’re eligible, saving them the cost of extra individual fares.
Hi Peg, if the new scanner is not yet installed your QR code will not work on the old scanner and at that point you are allowed to ride for free until the new scanner is installed. Also, our fare inspectors are aware of this situation. *RE
— RTD (@RideRTD)
