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Outlets still waiting for Opus machines
In the West Island, only 63 of 104 locations in operation
Ian Howarth
The Gazette
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Opus vending machines are now in métro stations.
Ian Howarth
Special to The Gazette
Opus is a Latin word meaning “work.” And if the new Société de transport de Montréal transit card of the same name is to be available to all bus, métro and train commuters, it still has plenty of work yet to do.
The Opus smart card, introduced in April – and to be available to all commuters by next June – is a system meant to fully automate ticket sales while cutting down on transit fraud, which costs the STM an estimated $5 million per year.
The STM has more than 450 agencies that are being equipped with Opus charging machines, which are currently in every métro station. The machines, at various dépanneurs and pharmacies throughout the island of Montreal, are still not all operational, though.
In the West Island, where the STM claims to have 104 locations to accommodate the recharging of the Opus smart card, only 63 had machines in place for the Nov. 25 deadline indicated on the STM website.
“We’ve been deploying these machines from east to west on the island,” said STM spokesperson Marianne Rouette. “The equipment has been in high demand. Some of our agencies wanted more than one machine.”
“We need now to order more equipment,” Rouette added. “All our agencies should be equipped before the end of this year.”
The STM estimates that since the Opus card has been available to commuters, more than 500,000 are in circulation – 145,000 of those in the hands of full-time students. In September, universities and CEGEPs in Montreal experienced a frenzy of activity as students had to fill out a new form to qualify for the Opus student discount.
Second-year Concordia University student Carly Salzman found out firsthand what the consequences of not having an updated student ID card are. After failing to meet the Oct. 31-student ID deadline, she was tagged by a STM inspector for using the old card and received a $214 fine.
“It was my own fault,” she acknowledged. “But the fine does seem a bit extreme. A warning would have been better.”
But the STM is playing hardball, said STM vice-president and Montreal councillor Marvin Rotrand.
“We’re trying to cut down on fraud,” he said. “The smart card has been known for a while. Our bosses are the public and they want cheap, but not free public transport. Some might say we’re too lax, but in Europe fines are harsher and imposed more frequently.”
Though Rotrand did sympathize with students and commuters like Salzman who are not obviously trying to defraud the STM, he hastened to add that the $150 fine plus $64 in administrative costs is, in fact, the minimum.
Concordia University supervisor of enrolment services at the Birks Student Service Centre, Lorraine Toscano, said September had been a very busy month for officials handling the new student ID. They had two days on campus in September for photo IDs necessary to qualify students for the Opus card.
“We’ve had students coming in quite regularly, including students who are starting the January semester,” she explained.
“The system seems to be working though, despite the form students need being one extra step that has provided us with a lot more work.”
The new smart card system is a big investment for the STM – $217 million overall, $169 million for the STM alone.
Taking their cues from major European and North American cities, the STM is banking Opus will mean less work and more money to re-invest in its aging transport once June 2009 rolls around and the system is firmly in place.
For more information on where the Opus card can be purchased or recharged in the West Island and Montreal, go to www.carteopus.info/en/main_nav/home/