It will be June before the new electronic ferry ticketing system is fully operational, Transportation Services Manager Kenrick Augustus said, but the Public Services Commission members got an update Saturday on what’s already online.
"It’s a big step in the right direction," PSC Commissioner Verne David said, watching through the Cruz Bay ferry dock ticket window as the ticket seller demonstrated her part of the system.
The system is partly operational. Currently, a person scans the tickets at the entrance to the secured area of the ferry dock. Once the V.I. Port Authority delivers the turnstiles, the tickets will go through the turnstile. Augustus did not know when the turnstiles will arrive.
The ferry companies are implementing the electronic ticketing system to help them keep an exact count of how many passengers ride the ferries as well as their revenues.
"From my office, I’ll be able to go on the Internet and see how many people left Red Hook," Augustus said, speaking about how data will be immediately available.
The data generated by the electronic ticket system will help the PSC make good decisions when the ferry companies ask for rate increases, PSC Director Keithley Joseph said.
The PSC revisited a recent rate increase after the St. John-based Unity Day group questioned the ferry companies’ revenue data.
"The Unity Day group was saying the figures were incorrect," Joseph said.
Changes in the ticket system will be implemented in stages. Augustus said the ferry companies expect to issue pass cards to the students who ride the ferries between St. John and St. Thomas during the "next week or so." This will require students to get their photos taken.
The pass cards will be good for two one-way trips a day.
"If they try to ride a third time, the system won’t accept it and they’ll have to pay," Augustus said.
Augustus said that the Education Department pays for the student tickets.
Next will come commuter tickets, and Augustus said commuters will be issued pass cards. He said bulk tickets bought by the local government for its employees will be the last to be included in the electronic ticket system.
Implementing the electronic ticket system called for changes in the way the companies are managed. The two companies, Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures, together formed St. John Ticketing Co. to handle the electronic ticketing. That company contracted with Turnstile to manage it effective Jan. 1.
According to Turnstile Manager Jenny Chitolie, ticket sellers will be employees of Turnstile. Additionally, the person who scans the tickets at the entrance to the ferry dock’s secured area will be a Turnstile employee, not a ferry boat crew member as is currently the case.
The ferry companies currently have a total of eight to 10 ticket sellers. Six people will be hired for the scanning job.
In addition to managing the tickets, Chitolie said Turnstile will work to improve customer relations. She said this includes helping staff learn how to treat customers.
"Some people need a pat on the head, and some people need a pat a little lower," Chitolie said, laughing.
