THUNDER BAY — With the move to a new reloadable Lift Pass card, city buses will not be accepting paper tickets after May 31.
Riders can exchange their unused tickets for a reloadable Lift Pass card at the Transit Office on Fort William Road.
Previously, the transit department said they would be phasing out paper tickets on July 31. Laura Daniels, supervisor of customer care and administrative services, says the transit department “felt it was necessary” to move up the date.
“We're going through the stages of modernizing how riders pay their transit fare under the new Lift card system. We are adjusting our rollout plan to best suit our operational and riders' needs,” says Daniels.
Anyone who still has paper tickets can trade them in at the city transit office, 570 Fort William Rd.
“If you have the old paper tickets you can bring them into our office and if you already have a reloadable card they can be loaded onto your reloadable card as rides. If you don't have a reloadable card yet, we will set you up with one and transfer those tickets onto the new reloadable cards,” says Daniels.
In a media release issued Wednesday, the transit department encouraged all passenger to exchange their paper tickets.
Wednesday was the last day the Lift Pass cards themselves were available for free. The cards will now cost $5.
Daniels says that the Lift Pass can only be reloaded online with a credit card. Those using other forms of payment like debit can reload their card at the transit office, City Hall, Shopper's Drug Mart in the MacIntyre Centre, Arrella's on Bay Street, and Skafs in Current River.
Community organizations that distribute tickets to clients are asked to contact transit customer service by email.
Daniels says they do have a system in place where community organizations can still “distribute rides on an individual basis.”
City Transit is still accepting cash fares on all buses as well.
