QUARTA

QUARTA, or Quentinsburgh Urban Area Rapid Transit Authority, is the primary provider of mass transit/ public transportation in Quentinsburgh, Freedemia and the surrounding metropolitan area. QUARTA operates the Quentinsburgh Metro (subway and bus rapid transit) system, a commuter rail system, downtown trams, and a network of local and express buses.

Quentinsburgh Metro
Created as the single-line Red Line Subway in 1945, the Quentinsburgh Metro system continued to expand to its current 6 metro lines over the next decades. Unlike many other systems its size, the majority of the metro network is elevated outside of downtown, with many viaducts running down the middle of major roads.

Bus Service
QUARTA provides both local and express bus service for most of the Quentinsburgh metropolitan area.

Tram Network
In the early 1900s, Quentinsburgh was home to a robust streetcar network connecting much of the older downtown areas of the city. Eventually as the metro system and bus network grew, many of the longer distance lines were eliminated. However, a solid network remains, including a historic loop line using restored historic cars and several lines with more modern streetcar service.

Regional Rail Network
Many suburbs and outlying towns beyond the extent of the metro system are served by QUARTA's regional rail system, especially those located to the city's north. Today, the network includes four lines, two running more traditional all-day frequent commuter service and one, the City Express, providing all-day frequent limited stop service through Quentinsburgh as well. In 2006, QUARTA completed work at Quentinsburgh Cardinal Station that allowed for through-running the CA and CB, allowing the portions of the network between around Sean Bond International Airport and Leighwood to operate frequent express service through the city similar to S-Bahn systems globally.

Fares


QUARTA offers one ride fares (1 trip, 1 way) and Transit Passes that give access to the system for multiple days. QUARTA's transit passes come in 4 main types:
 * BronzePass- Local Bus and Streetcar Only
 * SilverPass- Local Bus, Streetcars, Quentinsburgh Metro
 * GoldPass- Full system including commuter rail, express buses, bikeshare, etc

QUARTA encourages the use of Transit Passes, as it is more affordable for the passenger and also creates free transfers throughout much of the system and increases flexibility. It also allows for the transit system (especially buses) to move more smoothly than if all passengers were paying fares in cash or tokens. Passengers have the option of either buying a standalone pass card or loading passes onto a reloadable Paygo IC card at a slight discount.

One ride fares and one day passes can be purchased on the bus or at any Quentinsburgh Metro station. TransitPasses (excluding PlatinumPass and EduPass) and Paygo IC cards can be bought at all transit centers, most park and rides, most metro stations, select library branches, and area locations of All-n-One and Franklin's.

Other Fares...
The QUARTA system is free for anyone under the age of 6 or over the age of 80. However, those over the age of 80 must get a PlatinumPass to the system at a major transit center, which is still free with a photo ID. Those under the age of 6 must be accompanied with a paying individual. (In this case, any student grade 6 and up or adult with a pass counts as a 'paying individual', even if their pass was free.)

University students get a 'free' pass known as EduPass University, which is largely paid for by their tuition and fees. Public school students get an EduPass Primary, a similar pass for 1st-12th graders in public schools paid for by the taxpayers. Some workplaces also have company passes they give to their employees as a workplace benefit.

Fares Historically
QUARTA hasn’t always had a pass system as it does now. Originally, one ride fares were the only ones available. For most of the 1950s-1970s passengers had to pay in cash or tokens, relying on one ride fares. Considering there weren’t many metro routes and transfers were few, this wasn’t a huge issue.

In the early 80s the expanding metro network had more transfers that required leaving the station as new separated lines were added. Similar to what some systems still have today, QUARTA created the TransferReceipt at certain metro stations, where passengers leaving a station would be given a receipt that gave them free transfers to the adjoining subway line for thirty minutes.

In 1982, the TransferReceipt program was revamped and expanded to include the entire network. Now, passengers could have a free transfer to any local QUARTA bus line or QLine Metro route for thirty minutes. That length of time grew to forty-five minutes in 1985 and to an hour in 1990.

However, while revolutionary and convenient, this system had many flaws. TransferReceipts were at the time printed literally like receipts, and were easy to lose and easy to accidentally destroy. Many a passenger has spoken over the years of being stranded due to losing a TransferReceipt. To help solve that issue, in 1994 QUARTA created the TransferPass, a solid card version of the TransferReceipt that did the same thing while being harder to lose.

Little did QUARTA know that the TransferPass would end up birthing the BronzePass, SilverPass, and GoldPass that exist today. The TransferPass used the same swipe technology as today’s day passes, and could be read by the same scanners. QUARTA attempted to create a QUARTACard using the technology to replace tokens, but this wouldn't be successful until the 2009 rollout of Paygo IC cards years later.

Complaints about the TransferPass continued through 2007. Passengers no longer had problems with losing their cards, but continued to have issues. Any delays could mean missing their transfer or running out of time to transfer. It also cost QUARTA quite a bit to make so many cards that would often go to waste and were being given to passengers for free.

Finally, QUARTA decided that single ride fares were inefficient and inconvenient for daily riders. They realized that a day pass system would solve many of their issues- passengers could buy passes for slightly more than a one ride fare, and be able to ride the entire system for a day, week, or month. The same card technology and turnstiles from the TransferPasses would be used, but since they weren’t free and fares were higher, they would be able to pay for themselves while still keeping QUARTA financially stable.

The current transit pass system went into effect in 2008. Today, passes can also be loaded onto more permanent Paygo reloadable IC cards at a small discount. Paygo cards also can be tapped in addition to swiped, unlike the passes.

Fare Evasion
Compared to much of the world, QUARTA's punishments for fare evasion are fairly minor, with a fine of 4x the evaded fare. This was put into place in the early 2000s wanting to make sure fines were on par with the crime and that fare violations were not more costly than more dangerous driving/vehicle violations. As such, fare evasion is low but manageable where it occurs, as fines are low enough people are more willing and able to pay them.