Skip to content

Agency cards

An agency card is a generic term for the proprietary physical card tranist providers issue to eligible riders to show they participate in the provider’s reduced fare program. The Courtesy Card program at Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) is a good example. Agency card programs pre-date the option of fare collection using contactless payments. Transit providers often require riders to show the card to bus operators when boarding to prove their eligibility for reduced fares.

During the pilot phase of Cal-ITP Benefits, we offered the agency card enrollment option to transit providers that were early adopters of contactless payments and wanted to use Cal-ITP Benefits as a way to enroll riders in discount groups the application didn’t yet support, such as Medicare cardholders and people with disabilities. As the range of enrollment options in the app expands to cover previously unsupported discount groups, the agency card enrollment option becomes less necessary. We plan to deprecate the agency card enrollment option when the application offers enrollment pathways for all required groups.

The agency card enrollment option differs from other options in the application because of the way the app verifies a rider’s eligibility for transit benefits. When a rider chooses the agency card enrollment pathway, the application uses the Eligibility API call. This API call queries data stored offline on the agency side to confirm the rider is active in the program. For all other enrollment options, the Cal-ITP Benefits app confirms rider eligibility by querying external data sources via to the CDT Identity Gateway. See the older adult enrollment pathway as one example.

Demonstration

This video shows the rider experience enrolling for transit benefits using the agency card enrollment pathway.

Architecture

To support an agency card deployment in Cal-ITP Benefits, the transit provider produces a list of eligible riders in CSV format. That file is loaded into an instance of the Eligibility Server running in the transit provider’s cloud.

Cal-ITP uses the hashfields tool to mask user data before it leaves the transit provider’s on-premises systems to protect rider personal information.

System architecture

flowchart LR
    rider((Rider's browser))
    benefits[Cal-ITP Benefits]
    api[Eligibility Server]
    data[Hashed list of eligible riders]
    cardsystem[Agency card data source]

    rider --> benefits

    subgraph CDT Azure Environment
        benefits
    end

    benefits <--> api

    subgraph Transit provider cloud
        api --> data
    end

    subgraph Transit provider on-prem
        cardsystem --> hashfields
    end

    hashfields --> data

Notes:

Self-service enrollment

sequenceDiagram
autonumber
    actor Transit rider
    participant Benefits as Cal-ITP Benefits
    participant elig_server as Eligibility server
    participant ac_data as Hashed listed of eligible riders
    participant Agency card data source
    participant Transit processor

    Agency card data source-->>ac_data: exports nightly
       activate ac_data
    ac_data-->>elig_server: loaded on server start
    Transit rider->>Benefits: visits benefits.calitp.org
        activate Benefits
    Benefits-->>elig_server: provides agency card details
        activate elig_server
    elig_server-->>Benefits: returns eligibility status (y/n)
        deactivate elig_server
    Benefits-->>Transit processor: card registration start
        activate Transit processor
    Transit rider->>Transit processor: provides debit or credit card details
    Transit processor-->>Benefits: card registration confirmation
        deactivate Transit processor
        deactivate Benefits
        Note over Benefits: Successfull enrollment
1. The transit rider visits the web application at benefits.calitp.org in a browser on their desktop computer.

  1. The transit rider chooses the transit operator that serves an area where they want to ride public transit.

  2. The transit rider chooses to verify their eligibility as an agency cardholder.

  3. The transit rider enters the required information exactly as it appears on their agency card.

  4. The eligibility server looks for a match for the card details in the hashed list of eligible riders.

  5. The transit rider provides the debit or credit card details they use to pay for transit to the transit processor that facilitates fare collection for the transit provider.

  6. The app registers the transit rider’s debit or credit card for reduced fares.

In-person enrollment

sequenceDiagram
autonumber
%% In-person Enrollment for agency cardholders
    actor Transit_Rider as Transit Rider
    participant location as Agency Office
    actor Agency_Staff as Agency Staff Member
    participant Benefits as Cal-ITP Benefits Administrator
    participant Fare_processor as Transit processor
Transit_Rider->>location: visits a physical location or enrollment event
Agency_Staff->>Benefits: starts in-person enrollment
    activate Benefits
Agency_Staff->>Benefits: chooses agency cardholder enrollment pathway
Transit_Rider->>Agency_Staff: shares government-issued photo ID + agency card
Agency_Staff->>Benefits: verifies eligibility
    Note over Benefits: eligible (Y/N)
Fare_processor-->>Benefits: card registration form
    activate Fare_processor
Transit_Rider->>Fare_processor: enters debit or credit card details
Fare_processor-->>Benefits: card registration confirmation
    deactivate Fare_processor
    deactivate Benefits
    Note over Benefits: Successful enrollment

  1. The transit rider visits an agency office or enrollment event in person.

  2. A transit agency staff member logs into Cal-ITP Benefits Administrator, typically on a tablet device.

  3. The transit agency staff member launches in-person enrollment and chooses agency cardholder as the eligibility type.

  4. The transit rider hands the transit agency staff member their government-issued photo ID and agency card.

  5. The transit agency staff member confirms the person’s identity and verifies that the agency card indicates the person is an active enrollee.

  6. The transit agency staff member hands the transit rider the tablet so they can enter the debit or credit card details for the card they use to pay for transit.

  7. The app registers the transit rider’s debit or credit card with the transit processor.

Postcondition

The transit rider receives a fare reduction each time they use the debit or credit card they registered to pay for transit rides. The number of times they can use the card to pay for transit is unlimited.