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Friday, April 23, 2010

Viewing TransLink Card Balance and History is Easier and Faster


If you have a TransLink card, you can register it online and use the online features such as adding passes and funds. The most frustrating part was getting a history report because it took days, and knowing the balance of the card had to be done via their automated telephone line.

Good news folks... it's now been automated and you get the card balance information and history reports instantly!

When you log into the TransLink.org website, you'll notice on the left side of the secure page links to "check card value" and "check card activity."
  • When you click on the value button, it will tell you how much e-cash your card has and what type(s) of pass(es) you currently have.
  • As for the card's activity report, when clicking on the link, it still says it will be e-mailed to you, but if you simply just hit the "submit" button, you'll get a link to view your history report. The report may take a little time to generate, but it will tell you a detailed history of your trips and your card balances.
The activity report is very helpful if you get a citation from a fare inspector or a police officer. The document can be used as proof for a successful appeal. I highly recommend registering the card just in case if gets lost or stolen; a replacement card can be sent and the balance is restored.

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In other TransLink news, the management board is meeting this Monday to discuss updates on the TransLink/Clipper program. Unfortunately, there's no very juicy news to report after reviewing the documents. No news is good news?

TransLink's website has been updated to inform the public about the transition to the Clipper Card.

TransLink made an official apology through their Facebook page about the problems with card readers over the weekend. But... I beat them to the punch a day earlier.

4 comments:

joe said...

Thanks for the Translink tips. It's very convenient to get the activity update right away.

Anonymous said...

Might want to tell folks about the hammer they're taking to refunds on pre-tax funded cards - no refunds at all even if you funded it from personal funds.

I'll be picking up a free Clipper card to store personal funds. You figure it would be easy to track pre-tax passes/funds, but instead I'll be juggling two cards (one employer, one personal) because the MTC can't do this right.

Raymond said...

It's nice that you can get the card activity immediately. I just checked mine and found a problem. I usually take the AC Transit Transbay bus for my commute. The location listed for my recent transactions indicate the last BART station I exited even though I have been tagging on board the bus. I will be contacting Translink about this.

I don't know what happens if I tag on Muni. I may try it out now.

Akit said...

Raymond,

There's a lag time on history reports when using the card readers on buses. It won't show-up for at least a couple of days. Basically, when the bus returns to the depot, the data is wirelessly updated to the depot's router.