SFMTA to Install New TransLink® Fare Gates Using $11 Million in Federal Stimulus Funds

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) today announced a plan to install new TransLink-only fare gates and new ticket vending machines (TVMs) in its nine Muni Metro stations. The $29 million project will make it more convenient for transit customers to pay for and ride Muni and is funded in part by $11 million in federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The SFMTA is slated to receive at least $67.2 million in ARRA funds.

“This project is a great example of the use of federal stimulus dollars to create jobs and to bring state-of-the-art technology to San Francisco,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We need to re-invest in the infrastructure of the Muni system to fulfill the promise of our Transit First city.”

“These new fare gates and TVMs will provide a tremendous benefit to our customers,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO. “The new equipment will also help us increase the use of TransLink on the Muni system, which will make it easier for everyone to take transit in the Bay Area.”

The fare collection project includes the installation of 98 fare gate aisles, including extra-wide lanes that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Up to 40 new TVMs will be placed in Muni Metro stations and possibly other locations outside the subway. The fare gates and TVMs will eliminate cash transactions at the fare gates and help customers access the subway more quickly. Also included in the project are new station agent fare gate control terminals, test equipment and improved financial and ridership reporting tools.

The SFMTA is working with MTC, which manages the TransLink program, to deliver the fare collection project by the end of 2010 — more than 18 months earlier and more than $3 million under the budget in the SFMTA’s original fare gate replacement plan. Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., a California company with worldwide expertise in transit fare collection, assumed responsibility for the TransLink contract with MTC earlier this summer and will install the new Muni fare collection equipment.

TransLink is an electronic fare payment system that allows transit customers to use one convenient, secure card to ride the many public transportation systems throughout the Bay Area. A trial period of TransLink use on Muni (except cable cars) began last December, and there are now more than 6,000 daily transactions on Muni. A limited roll-out of Translink began on BART on August 3, which allows Muni TransLink customers who purchase a monthly Fast Pass on their card to also use the BART system within San Francisco. Muni customers can join the TransLink trial group by signing up at www.translink.org/muni.