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The Port Authority has been pilot testing the system in which users will be able to add value to their ConnectCards online.
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Pittsburghers soon will be able to add money online to their ConnectCards

Bill Wade/Post-Gazette

Pittsburghers soon will be able to add money online to their ConnectCards

Users of Port Authority ConnectCards will soon be able to add value to them online.

The authority has been testing an online portal and expects to debut it as soon as next month, said Thomas Noll, director of technical support and capital programs.

Users will be able to log in, enter their card numbers and purchase additional dollar value or weekly and monthly passes using a debit or credit card. They also will have the option of selecting a feature that automatically adds value to a card at certain intervals. “You can tell it to put this much on my card every month,” Mr. Noll said.

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Weekly and monthly pass users can purchase them in advance, and the accounts will be able to store two products — for example, a Zone 1 monthly pass and $20 in additional cash value to be used for occasional two-zone rides, he said.

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For those who have registered their cards with the authority, the system will be able to store credit card information so it doesn’t have to be entered with each purchase, he said. Those who haven’t registered their cards will be able to add value anonymously but will have to enter their credit card information with each transaction.

The authority encourages users to register their cards because it guarantees reimbursement for any value remaining on the card if it is lost or stolen. The agency cannot refund balances on unregistered cards that are lost.

The new system will have one caveat — value added online will not immediately be recognized by fareboxes. The information is downloaded to the boxes when a bus or rail car leaves or enters a garage or rail yard. So in some cases, value added to a card at the online site will not be available until the next day, Mr. Noll said.

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Purchases made at ConnectCard vending machines or at retail outlets are added almost immediately to the ConnectCard and are available to the user a short time after the transaction. The authority has 61 vending machines at stations and stops. Forty-nine Giant Eagle stores and 20 smaller retail outlets also have ConnectCard terminals.

First Published: March 19, 2015, 3:56 p.m.
Updated: March 20, 2015, 2:48 a.m.

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The Port Authority has been pilot testing the system in which users will be able to add value to their ConnectCards online.  (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)
Bill Wade/Post-Gazette
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