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  • From: bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] SE PA going to identifiable non-cash smart cards for transportation
  • Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:47:14 -0800 (PST)

This started in Britain a couple of years ago, now, tokyo, and moving into
american cities, like here in SE PA taking bids to implement. PA is begging
for bailout money (like my hometown) but has the money to implement these
cities to further erode our privacy.

It sounds innocuos enough on its face. But, The end result is the ability
of gov't or corporate (both really, they are now so incestuous) to track and
record your every move. Where these have been in place for a while, there is
no anonymity. You cannot buy one with cash. You must use payment form that
identifies who you are.

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Pennsylvania


Posted on Tue, Nov. 11, 2008


SEPTA puts out call for "smart card" proposals
By Paul Nussbaum

Inquirer Staff Writer

SEPTA has issued its long-awaited call for bids on an ambitious new
electronic "smart card" fare-collection system, with plans to award a
contract in the spring.
The system will replace the tokens, tickets and magnetic-stripe cards that
passengers use on buses, subways, trains and trolleys.

SEPTA's request for proposals, issued Friday, is intentionally vague, leaving
many specifics of how the system will work up to the companies that offer to
build it. But the agency said it wanted a system that will allow passengers
to use credit cards, prepaid SEPTA cards, even cell-phones to pay for their
trips.

With a "smart card," passengers will be able to wave a card at a sensor on a
turnstile or fare box and be on their way.

It will be several years before a new system can be built and installed. Cost
estimates have ranged as high as $100 million, although SEPTA urged bidders
to offer innovative financing proposals, such as public-private partnerships,
to reduce the cost to the agency.

The biggest challenge may be designing a system that works well on Regional
Rail, since rail passengers do not enter through a single gate or door.

SEPTA told bidders they must come up with a system that addresses rail
fare-collection "in a customer-friendly manner."

"SEPTA is really in uncharted territory here," said Matthew Mitchell of the
Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, noting that other transit
agencies have not devised a high-tech system to collect rail fares.

Mitchell said "it is going to be very hard to improve on" the weekly and
monthly passes that most regular rail commuters use. He said SEPTA should
install simple vending machines at every rail station to accept credit-card
payments.

Another challenge will be to create a smart card compatible with those used
by other transit agencies. PATCO, which operates commuter trains between
Philadelphia and South Jersey, this year installed a smart-card system, and
NJ Transit is in the early stages of designing one.

Mayor Nutter's transportation chief, Rina Cutler, has said compatibility
should be a high priority for SEPTA's fare system, so passengers can use a
single card for travel, and perhaps even parking, throughout the region.

The deadline for companies to submit fare-collection proposals to SEPTA is
March 17. The agency hopes to award a contract by April, general manager
Joseph Casey said last month.

http://www.nfcnews.com/2008/11/11/septa-puts-out-call-for-smart-card-proposals








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