Card-based Public Transit Fare Payments Will Lead to Mobile Payments and a Cashless Society

Smart cards are credit card-sized plastic cards with an embedded antenna and computer chip. They have become quite widespread among U.S. public transit agencies. The contactless Smart Card uses an electronic link between card and reader equipment that allows for a very fast interface that is needed by mass transit. Using Smart Cards to replace traditional transit tickets or tokens reduces cash handling, equipment maintenance, and security costs; and holds the promise of increasing convenience for riders; improving collection of ridership data; lending a more modern image to transit; and providing new opportunities for innovative fare structures and marketing. Collection of ridership data leads to more targeted services by allowing transit agencies to keep track of ridership patterns and preferences. - Privacy Issue with Use of Smart Cards

National Transit Card in the Works for England

September 8, 2010

Contactless News - The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed plans to implement a national smart card for public transportation on English trains, trams and buses, according to railnews.co.uk.

UK Transport Minister Norman Baker plans for the national smart card to be an “all-mode” device, and thus compatible with existing smart cards already issued by Passenger Transport Executives, says railnews.co.uk.

Under the project, the DfT will issue grants of £20 million to nine large urban areas in England in order to develop the system.

As of now, the DfT’s proposal is only for England, but railnews.co.uk says Scotland and Wales may join in on the project, creating a unified transit card network over all of Britain.

Read more here.

Netherlands' Rolls Out Next Generation Transportation Smart Card

September 9, 2010

Contactless News - Trans Link Systems (TLS) and the Open Ticketing Institute have asked Chess to design the next-generation OV-chipkaart, the Netherlands’ public transportation smart card.

According to Finextra, Chess was charged with improving the security of the card while retaining the previous version’s high handling speed.

In response, Chess has developed a new GlobalPlatform standards-compliant Java Card, which has already been tested by independent institutions such as The Royal Holloway University of London, working on behalf of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

The new OV-chipkaart’s specifications have already been sent to hardware vendors, but the timing of the next-gen rollout depends on fraud-related developments with existing OV-chipkaarts, according to Finextra.

Read more here.