Post by James Fujita on Aug 3, 2010 14:49:16 GMT -8
A couple of years ago, when I visited Tokyo, I was surprised to find that you could take the SUICA (Tokyo's amazingly successful transit pass/ reloadable electronic money card/ TAP card) and use it to buy stuff at FamilyMart (cousin to Famima!!).
Well, somebody in California must have heard of this idea, because bus riders in Visalia can now use their monthly pass to buy stuff. Sort of.
It's actually kind of confusing. Visalia recently switched its monthly pass system from paper to plastic. The plastic cards are described as rechargable and have a cash value system.
But the buses don't have RFID readers. No, instead Visalia bus riders can take their monthly pass to Subway (the sandwich shop, not the rail line) and get cash discounts with it. There's a bunch of other retailers involved, too.
It seems a bit backwards to me..... you're supposed to have the transit cash purse first, and then add the merchants to it... but I must admit, it sounds innovative. I've never heard about anything like this before...
Well, somebody in California must have heard of this idea, because bus riders in Visalia can now use their monthly pass to buy stuff. Sort of.
It's actually kind of confusing. Visalia recently switched its monthly pass system from paper to plastic. The plastic cards are described as rechargable and have a cash value system.
But the buses don't have RFID readers. No, instead Visalia bus riders can take their monthly pass to Subway (the sandwich shop, not the rail line) and get cash discounts with it. There's a bunch of other retailers involved, too.
It seems a bit backwards to me..... you're supposed to have the transit cash purse first, and then add the merchants to it... but I must admit, it sounds innovative. I've never heard about anything like this before...