Collecting cash revenue from fareboxes is a vital yet potentially vulnerable part of the fare collection process. With Genfare, our mobile and stationary collection systems offer two different approaches to securing cash revenue between the point of collection from the rider to the point of final accounting. Each has its unique advantages that may better suit different transit agency concerns.
The mobile vault system allows transit agency employees to securely transfer cashboxes on site so they may be brought to a centralized location for counting. The mobile vault consists of two main parts: the stationary vault and a secure, mobile bin. The mobile bins can be moved between multiple stations and terminals to collect revenue from onboard fareboxes located on buses, light rail, or paratransit vehicles as well as offboard fareboxes, like the Vendstar 4 vending machine. At 1,000 lbs when empty, the mobile vault can collect up to $12,500 in bills and $12,500 in coins for a total of $25,000. A full mobile vault weighs 2,200 lbs.
The stationary vault requires staff to transfer individual cashboxes from each farebox to a centralized location. Some transit agencies use multiple stationary vaults located at terminals large enough to house an office for secure counting. With an empty weight of 460 lbs, the stationary vault can carry up to $10,000 in bills and $10,000 in coins for a total of $20,000. When full, the stationary vault weighs 1,200 lbs, though this weight is less relevant since the vault does not need to be moved.
When comparing the two types of vaults, transit agencies generally focus on a few main concerns. The mobile vault allows for easier revenue collection from remote stations or terminals that do not contain an office secure enough for on-site cash counting. Because the mobile bin can be moved across locations, it can collect and consolidate multiple terminals into one bin before heading back to the central accounting office. However, agencies that wish to track these totals separately may require multiple mobile bins.
The stationary vault may be considered more secure in some situations, since the revenue does not have to be moved multiple times from bus to vault to mobile bin and, finally, to accounting office. The stationary vault also reduces the need to transport heavy bins, which can be expensive due to fuel, vehicle, and labor costs. On the other hand, a stationary vault at every service island is not always cost-effective, particularly when some service areas have lower traffic.
For these reasons, some transit agencies decide to make use of both stationary vaults, to serve central offices, as well as mobile vaults for more remote or underutilized terminals.
The mobile cash receiver option allows the reception of the cash box on-site, wherever the onboard or offboard farebox is located. The stationary cash receiver requires the cashbox to be removed from the farebox and brought to the vault’s location. Both forms of revenue collection keep the bills and coins secure in the cashbox until the vault undergoes a specified sequence of events known only to certain staff members.