The OPUS multi-purpose transit pass is here: students get smart (card)

To date, 60,000 of these cards (christened OPUS) are in use. “We’re ahead of schedule,” happily reveals Montreal Transit Corporation (STM) spokesperson Odile Paradis.

As of next week, there will be a marketing campaign for the microchip-embedded smart card featuring a photo of the owner on the back. The card will be accessible to 226,000 students eligible for its reduced transit rates. The Quebec City region will also be part of the master plan. In Laval, 20,000 students are expected to apply for the card.

Eventually, everyone eligible for reduced transit rates will be issued the card, including seniors who’ll probably be using the card by the spring of 2009. “We spent four days in an intensive campaign in seniors' residences,” notes Marie-Céline Bourgault, spokesperson for the Laval Transit Corporation (STL). During these visits, the personalized smart card was offered free to seniors already holding a reduced rate bus pass. They were charged no fees for the new card itself.

The new personalized card makes it virtually impossible for anyone but the owner to use it since the picture automatically excludes everyone else. In case of loss or theft, the card is quickly destroyed electronically as soon as it is reported missing, making its illicit use impossible. A new replacement card will be issued to the owner at a cost of $13.50. This feature of the card is not yet available for adults, but it is foreseen that eventually all card-holders will have their cards registered.

The student smart card can be obtained by anyone aged 12 to 17 enrolled in full-time studies at an institution recognized by the Ministry of Education. The STL also offers the card to those aged 18 to 21 fulfilling the full-time student requirement.

Students who miss the photo session at school have several options: the SPEQ Photo Studio at the McGill Metro Station, or at the Cartier, Le Carrefour, or Montmorency terminuses in Laval.

The student OPUS Card will be valid for two years, but eligibility for reduced rates will have to be renewed very year. Owners of the traditional card (ID and Pass) can use it until October 31, 2008, after which the new card becomes obligatory.

Once made, it remains for the card to be loaded up with various services needed. Up to four options can be programmed on the reusable single card. A Laval high school student, for instance, can put a $44.50 monthly pass tab (reduced rate) on the card as well as single rides of $1.75 for occasional use.

The OPUS Smart Card can be programmed at any metro station, at Laval terminuses or at any of 700 merchants in the metropolitan area authorized by transit authorities and equipped with transit machines. (See the STL website www.stl.laval.qc.ca for detailed information).