We Got a Ticket to Ride

You know that totally obvious idea of creating some sort of general pass that works on the plethora of public transportation options? And you know how it's so obvious that you want to bang your head against the table that it hasn't happened yet. Well, it's happening, finally. Or at least a trial run of it.

This is actually the second time it's been tested. The first time they tried, in 2004, they had problems finding a way of synching up to all the various transit systems. Not to mention lawsuits and political spat fights. For now, only the Ferries and AC Transit are hooked up to the Translink system but in 2007, the big boys are scheduled to go online-- BART and MUNI. The hope is by 2010, the entire kit and caboodle will be up and running. Said Contra Costa County Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier: "The good news is it looks like we finally got it right and are ready to go," The bad news is that it never should have taken this long or cost this much." Amen to that, brother."

How this thing will work is basically sort of how those EZPass things work. You have a pass, it has a chip, and when you walk to the public transportation thing of your choice, said chip clicks off and takes care of your ticket. It's just that easy.