Posted in Montreal, Opinion, Public transit  11 problems with
STM’s new magnetic fare card  Nameless new STM fare/transfer
card  Nameless new STM fare/transfer card  This spring, after
outfitting all buses and metro stations with new equipment, the
STM introduced a new, smarter fare system which uses smart cards
instead of magnetic-strip passes, and cards with magnetic strips
instead of … tickets with magnetic strips. Both not only serve
as fare payment, but also as transfers.  Though Opus, the smart
card, is the sexier and more revolutionary of the new fare
cards, the STM started with this flimsy paper thing that has
caused nothing but confusion and problems (even its website is
down)  Below is a list of the problems I’ve noticed with the
non-Opus paper card, even though I’ve never actually used one:
1. It doesn’t have a name. Unlike the Opus smart card, which has
a whole branding effort behind it, this paper magnetic card has
neither a proper branding name nor any simple two-word
description. The result