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The feature allowing commuters to recharge Opus cards using a smartphone app was temporarily suspended Wednesday, when many users planned to load monthly passes for May.
Citing “technical reasons” for the suspension, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain apologized for the inconvenience and said it was working to get the feature up and running again shortly.
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ARTM spokesperson Simon Charbonneau explained that a high number of incomplete transactions Tuesday night and Wednesday morning resulted in the system being overloaded as it automatically processed refunds.
“We had to suspend the activities of the application to process the refunds and empty the queue, and we will relaunch the app within the next few hours,” Charbonneau said.
Charging an Opus card using the app involves three steps, Charbonneau explained: tapping the card to the back of the phone to read it, making the purchase, then tapping the card again to load the fares.
“If the third step isn’t completed, the system will (automatically) reimburse the user within 30 minutes,” he said.
The option to add fares to Opus cards using the free Chrono app has been available since April 10. The long-awaited feature aims to allow commuters to avoid lines at in-person sale points and buy fares when they please.
Since many commuters purchasing monthly fares were using the feature for the first time Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, they may not have been aware of the steps involved, Charbonneau explained, adding that communication campaigns are underway.
He said the agency is making modifications to the system to avoid a similar situation in the future.
Until now, the success rate for transactions since the launch of the app has been 97 per cent, Charbonneau said, as was the case during tests over the winter.
While the ARTM works to get the app back up and running, commuters are being asked to purchase their fares in person.
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