While cash will still be accepted, app and card form represents the payment methods of the future for BC Transit customers. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

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NANAIMO — Traditional fare products will soon no longer be sold to Regional District of Nanaimo’s transit customers.

As of Dec. 1, physical tickets, along with monthly and semester passes, won’t be sold to RDN transit riders, while physical tickets will still be accepted as payment until they run out.

The BC Bus Pass Program offering subsidized fares for low-income seniors and those with disabilities is still accepted, according to BC Transit.

Ryan Dennis, the agency’s director of revenue development, said most traditional payment options are being replaced by Umo, available in digital app or reloadable card form.

“We’re not doing away with cash — any riders that choose to can continue to pay with that, anybody whose got a stack of tickets can continue to use that for their travel as well,” Dennis told NanaimoNewsNOW.

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Customers relying on handyDART tickets are also unaffected by the changes.

Launched within the RDN one year ago, 14,000 riders have since adopted the Umo payment model, Dennis noted, who stated 5,500 Umo customers were reported using the system regionally in October.

He said about 60 per cent of RDN based Umo users favoured the app form.

While Dennis said specific metrics on payment methods within the RDN aren’t available, he said most of their riders pay using Umo.

Dennis said BC Transit constantly communicates with Umo representatives, whom they have a multi-year agreement with.

“We regularly have meetings with them, we say ‘We’ve heard this,’ or, ‘This would be great if something worked this way.’ That relationship is really collaborative and dynamic and the platform’s going to continue to evolve.”

Features of Umo enabled fare products includes a 30-day pass (activated on first use, not when purchased), as well as automatically converting a second daily payment to a day pass.

A refreshed Umo app launched this past summer smoothed out what Dennis called minor bugs to ease the user experience.

Real-time scheduling and mapping information are available within the Umo app.

As BC Transit delves further into digital payment options, tap debit and credit card payments are expected by about the midway point of next year, Dennis noted.

“We want to make sure that everything’s to the highest standard of compliance, that’s the work that’s underway right now.”

Bus fare remains free for transit riders 12-years-old or younger throughout the province.

More information on Umo can be found here, while RDN transit information is available here.

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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes