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Smart Cards
Smart card technology for payment systems for public transit
Electronic systems for information storage, processing, and communication have entered practically every facet of our day-to-day existence, and paying bus and train fares is no exception. At least twenty public transit systems in the
Vision, Goals and Objectives
Our vision is to support a seamless interoperatable transportation payment infrastructure of all transportation modes, not be limited by institutional constraints, or the absence of interregional interoperatable payment systems, in the development of transportation payment products.
Caltrans in
The California State Department of Transportation, Division of Mass Transportation, has undertaken the role of facilitating the implementation of a statewide interoperative Smart Fare Payment System. Recent developments and government policies supporting projects involving electronic payment systems and card technology present a unique opportunity for the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships in the development and management of electronic payment systems for transportation. These developments include stored-value card systems, contactless smart card systems for public transportation, electronic toll collection systems on highways and card systems for human service agency programme management and benefits delivery. Private industry and public agencies foresee substantial benefits in establishing partnerships to develop further capabilities in electronic fee collection, delivery of benefits payments, funds transfer, settlement and clearinghouse functions.
Who Will Use Smart Cards?
San Francisco Bay Area transit riders have long expressed desire for a single transit card to smooth their transfers from one system to another and to eliminate the need to carry exact change or multiple tickets. "In a random telephone survey of Bay Area registered voters, a universal transit ticket ranked tops among their desired transportation improvements, favored by 76 percent of respondents."
Smart Card/ Benefits mean Riders no longer will have to fumble for exact change or keep track of complicated fares. The Card will mean no more waiting in lines to buy tickets, tokens or passes, and less congestion at fare collection points, and various programmes allow riders to automatically transfer value from their bank accounts or credit cards to their Smart Card, whenever the stored value dips below a certain amount, and more accommodating for persons with disabilities, where conventional fare payment points presented physical barriers, to using public transportation systems, and In the future, Smart cards may be accepted at parking lots, parking meters, taxis and public telephones. They also could be used for retail purchases.
Smart Card Forums
Caltrans Mass Transportation Web Conferencing forum provides Smart Card project managers communications tool. We encourage discussions among project managers to be viewed by other members of the transit industry such as the TTC in
Benefits of multipurpose programmes for transportation agencies
o Seamless regional transportation travel through the use of a universal medium that allows individual operators the ability to retain their own fare structures and promotional programmes.
o Reduced revenue collection costs by having a bank or other private entity provide media, by introducing economies of scale in the implementation and management of are collection activities, or by using lower maintenance revenue collection technology.
o Generation of additional revenues by reducing service payment abuse and evasion, expanding utility arrangements, float, expired card value and selling advertising space on media.
o Improved customer convenience through the use of prepaid/stored value media in general or through the use easy-to-use media and through expanding the distribution network for prepaid media.
o Expanded market base for transportation services by accepting commercial payment media (or by increasing employer participation) and increased ridership through the institution of loyalty tie-ins with merchants or frequent rider-type bonuses.
o Improved data collection and reporting capabilities; improved equity and timeliness of the reconciliation and distribution of revenues collected in a multi-operator system.
Employers and Government Agencies will directly benefit from accurate accountability of employer and government funded public transportation programmes for employees and recipients of government assistance programmes.
Employers will be able to provide transit benefits to employees with Smart Cards without the need for vouchers. In addition, Smart cards use state-of-the-art chip technology to provide card readers that function without movable parts. This technology provides for faster passenger boarding, reduced maintenance, and streamlined data recording and transfer.
Implementation of multi-modal transportation payment systems
TransLink, a regional transit fare payment system using 'smart card' technology, is scheduled to launch as a demonstration project in the San Francisco Bay Area in mid-2001. The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area will be first in the state of
The six-month demonstration project will include approximately 5,000 transit riders using TransLink on six Bay Area transit systems. The results of this demonstration will be thoroughly evaluated before the system is implemented region wide. In the long term, TransLink smart-card technology can provide a broad range of services beyond transit fares. Future uses could include payment of parking fees, phone calls, retail purchases, and perhaps even Internet purchases.
Example of associated costs of Smart Cards
An example of capital and operating costs for the (MTCís) TransLink demonstration programme, which includes development, testing and installation of the system on portions of transit systems, are estimated to be approximately $20 million. This funding is made available through a variety of sources including federal, state and regional funds.
Total capital costs for fare collection equipment and installation throughout the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, largely urbanized, is estimated to be $37 million. Annual operating costs for full rollout are estimated to be between $8 million and $14 million, depending on usage.
Because TransLink is designed to serve large numbers of customers regionally, the cost per ride will go down as the number of users increases. Once the programme is up and running, the operating cost is estimated to be an average of 3.6 cents to 5 cents per ride. This amount covers data processing, system maintenance and customer support.
Early Automation Efforts
Although the advent of the Information Age has hastened such progress, the push toward transit fare automation began nearly thirty years ago when BART, the San Francisco Bay area's then new rapid transit system, introduced a fare system based on inexpensive paper magnetic stripe ("magnetic stripe") tickets. This type of system, since emulated elsewhere in the
One key functional aspect of the read-write and magnetic stripe fare card is its "stored-value" attribute. This represents a convenience for both the user and the transit system. A magnetic stripe fare card typically can hold more than a week's worth of fares, thus greatly decreasing the number of separate cash transactions a rider must engage in, while not subjecting pocket or purse to a seam-splitting pile of tokens. The transit system benefits from automated cash collection through lower labor costs and greater money handling security.
Fare collection systems based on the paper magnetic stripe fare card have some shortcomings. The mechanical systems that transport fare cards inside read-write units are prone to failure and need a fair amount of maintenance, according to transit authorities using such equipment. Furthermore, the rate of processing passengers through turnstiles is marginally slower with magnetic stripe fare cards than with tokens, due to the routine of putting the card into one small slot and retrieving it from another. To speed up traffic through turnstiles, some transit authorities have tried plastic magnetic stripe cards of normal ATM card thickness, designed for hand-held swiping through a read-write unit. However, some transit authorities using such systems have found them to be problematical due to the unreliability of the write operations in the swipe-type read-write units.
Read-Only Passes and Fare Cards
There are alternatives to advanced transit fare payment systems relying on value stored on a read-write fare card. Pass-based systems operated by a number of transit authorities use rigid plastic read-only magnetic stripe pass cards for actuating subway turnstiles or for registering on bus fare boxes equipped with card readers. Automated fare collection using read-only fare cards is possible by recording transactions for subsequent billing to rider accounts. Buses of the Phoenix Transit System have fare boxes equipped with swipe-type magnetic stripe card readers, used to read Visa and MasterCard. Rider data is downloaded to a PC at the end of each run, and riders are billed once per month. Information concerning non-acceptable cards is uploaded to each fare box.
This scheme offers the convenience of a cash-less fare payment medium that many riders already have less cash to handle, and the opportunity to collect rider-ship information. To assure speed, entry of a personal identification number (PIN) by each card user is dispensed with, thus creating some small exposure to loss from the use of unreported lost or stolen charge cards. Automated Fare Card Sales as presently designed; the machines that dispense fare cards in major
This move will further reduce the expense and risk of cash handling incurred by transit operators. Smarts Fare cards a number of technical advancements beyond the read-write magnetic stripe card are available. One is the "smart" stored value card, containing a microcomputer, complete with microprocessor and nonvolatile electrically erasable programmemable read only memory (EEPROM). The prime reason for including a microprocessor on the card is to perform security checks to guarantee the veracity and incorruptibility of information stored in the card's memory. Smart stored value cards cost more than magnetic stripe cards, but offer operational advantages. The unreliability of a magnetic card reader is avoided, and security against tampering with the card's data can be much greater.
Contact Cards
One type of smart stored value card is the contact card. This card contains a small array of electrical contacts on one surface of the card for carrying signals between the card and the base unit into which a card is placed, and for carrying power to the card's circuitry. In a
If these cards are successful, they may offer transit operators an opportunity for relatively cash-less fare systems, without the paperwork and billing requirements of credit cards. VISA and three banks will be introducing "VISA Cash" stored-value cards throughout
RF Coupled Proximity Smart Cards These cards, generally designed to communicate with a base unit one to six inches away, are called proximity (prox) cards. The modulated RF signal transmitted from base unit to card also carries power to the card's circuitry. Proximity smart cards presently represent the ultimate in reliability since there is a complete absence of moving parts and contacts. Passenger speed through subway turnstiles or past bus fare boxes is rapid, since the cards simply must be brought into an interaction zone for a transaction to be completed in less than a tenth of a second. RF-coupled cards had their beginnings as identification (ID) devices for tagging, labeling, and security applications. RF ID tags designed for read-only use have applications that include controlled-access security ID cards, and anti-theft tags used on merchandise in many stores. Very small implanted RF ID tags are used for tagging household pets in There continues to be a migration of technology between transit and non-transit applications. A Perspective of the Future Transportation authorities are making use of advances in fare technology for more than simply collecting subway and bus fares. Applications include collection of ridership information: multimodal, intermodal, and intersystem fares and transfers (including buses, subways, passenger ferries, commuter trains, and automobile parking); paratransit fare payment and record keeping; and multi-use stored-value cash cards useable for small purchases as well as fares. May provide more accessibility to persons with disabilities, when traditional fare, toll and fee collection devices have provided physical barriers in using public transportation. One great incentive for introducing more automation into fare collection is the desire of transit operators to avoid the expense and security hazards of handling large amounts of cash, coins, and traditional tokens. Implementing a modern transit fare collection system is a complex undertaking that involves a variety of technological considerations, and also issues such as rider acceptance, financial management, alternative fare policies, operating and maintenance expenses, record keeping benefits, and costs of fare card media. The benefits offered by advanced technology have convinced transit authorities in The Ventura County Transportation Commission in The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, announce the beginning of WMATA's new programme called SmartBenefits. The programme transitions the authority's Metrochek fare card voucher programme to the WMATA SmarTrip® card, making it the nation's first transit programme to offer automated delivery of transit benefits. Cubic is the end-to-end provider of WMATA's ``smart'' automated fare payment solution and technology. The popular SmarTrip system utilizes a contactless smart card that provides subway and parking lot patrons a cashless way to pay. SmartTrip was the first major implementation of contactless smart cards for transit use in SmartBenefits utilizes the base technology developed by Cubic as part of its Nextfare(TM) Solution Suite, a package of advanced tools that can be integrated into automatic fare collection systems. Nextfare(TM) Express called SmartBenefits by WMATA enables employers to securely and conveniently deliver transit fare products as part of their flexible benefits offering. With SmartBenefits, passengers will no longer have to wait in line every month to obtain their vouchers. The new application will allow Metro customers who currently receive Metrochek paper vouchers < class="content">from their employers to have their transportation benefit downloaded electronically, directly to their SmarTrip card, at any WMATA Pass/Farecard vendor in the 78 rail stations in the WMATA system. For employers who distribute transit benefits to their employees, SmartBenefits will deliver in seconds what used to take days under the paper-based system. WMATA will maintain an electronic database -- created by each participating employer -for all Metrochek-eligible employees. Benefit information will be loaded onto WMATA's central computer via an Internet interface designed by the Authority, which will streamline the data reporting and records process, and reduce administrative costs associated with the handling and distribution of vouchers for participating employers. In a related initiative, several regional transportation operators are in the process of purchasing SmarTrip-compatible equipment, which will enable seamless in SmartBenefits acceptance throughout the Washington-Baltimore Corridor. Today, nearly 100,000 participants representing 2,300 companies and government agencies receive approximately $35 million in Metrochek benefits annually. This translates to 1.7 million specially encoded fare cards that are manually distributed from the transit authority to an armored car service, to employers, and finally to employees. Employees currently desiring to use through benefits on non-Metro facilities must trade these fare cards for third party operator fare media. The WMATA SmartBenefits programme likely will be a model for other transit agencies wanting to automate and integrate their transit benefits programmes with the introduction of contactless smart card technology. Future versions of the programme will allow transit riders to download their transit benefit directly into their personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices. Cubic is the world's largest supplier of integrated ticketing and automated fare collection systems for mass transit. On an annual basis, at least 14 billion mass transit rides are made with Cubic-designed payment systems, accounting for $10 billion in annual fares. In addition to providing the technology for the smart card-based fare collection system in "Interoperability" smart card specifications established by With an interoperability specification nailed down, testing can begin. After months of work, the General Services Administration and vendors have achieved what industry has been unable to do on its own: agree on an interoperability specification that will allow different smart cards to work together across government. GSA, along with vendor and agency representatives, recently drafted and agreed to an open, interoperable specification to enable smart cards bought off the government wide Smart Access Common ID contract by one agency to work with applications and smart card readers used by another agency. GSA has started testing the specification. "To get all the prime [vendors] to agree on interoperability for applications I think is a huge step When GSA awarded its estimated $1.5 billion smart card contract in May to five prime vendors - KPMG Consulting LLC, Litton/PRC Inc., Electronic Data Systems Corp., 3-G International Inc. and Logicon Inc. - it required all smart cards to interoperate so that agencies can use cards for multiple purposes. Because smart card vendors offer proprietary solutions based on their own specifications, vendors and GSA had to develop a neutral specification that all can support. The specification covers five smart card applications: identification; logical access control, such as access to a computer network; physical access control, such as access to a building; biometrics, such as fingerprint scans; and cryptographic services, such as digital signatures. The original goal was to draft the interoperability specifications within 45 days after the award, but the process proved more complex than anticipated. Interoperability should bring prices down and make smart cards more attractive in government, said Rick Pratt, programme manager for GSA's smart card project at EDS. "I think it will make vendors more competitive," he said. "If it's just your card, then you can ask any price. If you're working against other vendors, it will bring the price down." Competition is good for users, said John Moore, chairman of the Federal Smart Card Users Group and director of smart card studies in GSA's office of electronic government. "Do you think the However, the most difficult part may still lie ahead. The National Institute of Standards and Technology initially will help GSA test 20 cards with 20 readers a process expected to last several months. Vendors must also develop middleware based on the specifications to enable different platforms to support different cards. "You could end up with cards that are compatible, but if the middleware is not done correctly, it makes it useless," said Bill Bialick, technology director at Spyrus Inc., a subcontractor for two primes. Donna Farmer, president and chief executive officer of the Smart Card Forum, said although there are standards in place, which doesn't guarantee interoperability. "It isn't that the technology is the problem or issue, it's all about how companies will interact with each other," she said. Femino said he expects agencies to issue task orders for smart card services soon. Last week, the Defense Department said it plans to use the contract to buy about 1 million smart cards in January. The specifications, meanwhile, will continue to evolve over the 10-year contract. The Smart Access Common ID Contract utilizes card-based technologies to provide government agencies with a standard identification card that provides the means for employees to authenticate themselves for secure access to government buildings, systems, and facilities. For those employees with heightened security needs, the cards can also carry biometric signatures that may be used for access control and/or for electronic commerce. The contract prescribes a Government-wide interoperable standard. The contract provides the supplies and services necessary to support a common, interoperable, multi-application Smart Card programme. The Smart Card programme will be available for use by all authorized activities that have received written delegated authority from the FEDCAC Contracting Officer. At a minimum, the ordering organization can use the Smart Card as an employee or employee beneficiary identification card. The Smart Card programme will allow ordering organizations to issue a Smart Card that can be used to provide basic visual identification, identification authentication, physical and logical access control, as well as a number of value added features. Physical Access Control refers to an automated system that controls an individual's ability to access a physical location such as a building, parking lot, office, or other designated physical space. Logical Access Control is an automated system that controls an individual's ability to access one or more computer system resources such as a workstation, a network, an application, or a database. Typical of many other uses is the ability of the card's chip to store vital emergency medical data, training history, credit card or transportation fare (debit card) functions and almost limitless, yet to be discovered, features. The Smart Card programme will allow organizations to select from multiple and flexible solutions to meet their diverse requirements. When technically feasible, Smart Card systems may benignly interface with an agency's legacy system for physical access and/or computer systems. In some cases, agencies will not have to replace their existing systems but may integrate Smart Card technology. For further reading, see "Smart Cards for Transit: Multi-Use Remotely Interrogated Stored-Data Cards for Fare and Toll Payment," by William R. Bushnell, Coopers & Lybrand,
Contact-type smart cards are viewed as having some shortcomings. The contacts can eventually wear and corrode; and subway passengers would have to slow down or pause to stick their cards into turnstile slots. For this reason contactless radio frequency (RF) coupling between smart card and read/write unit is used in a growing number of smart card systems.
Lack of interoperability has been a major impediment to smart card adoption in this country, said Mike Brooks, director of GSA's Centre for Smart Card Solutions. The specification will be "a catalyst for smart card technology forging ahead in