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  • From: bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] SE PA going to identifiable non-cash smart cards fortransportation
  • Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:41:28 -0800 (PST)

good am lynn. I noticed a whole rack of those prepaid visa gift cards at the
grocery yesterday. Whether it is a $25 dollar card or a $50 or $100 card
they all charged a $4.95 transaction fee, plus $2.00 month service fee (after
beginning period , which can vary). I have read , and I think posted, that
right now, $200 is the largest amount allowed. Those are loan shark terms

Oh, and by the way, they are not and 'do not' function as crdit cards, no
matter how they are advertised. They function only as debit cards. Paypal
and other such places will not accept 'prepaid' non-identifiable debit cards.
That is a new policy within the past year, more p*triot a*t crap.

Walgreens had the largest brand (I've onlty read about them) of prepaid
anonymous visa cards (Green dot). Now, you have to be identifiable to load
the cards, and I've read that tyhere are many problems using the cards and
having them accepted. The numbers on the cards indentify them as "prepaid".
Many large entities will not accept "prepaid" debit cards.

You can 'not' go to a doctor and pay cash without giving your ss# and being
looked up in the computer. I talked to my docotr about this. She will
accept cash, but you have to be identified , in the 'system'.

I might be a bit paranoid in the view of some, but almost everything you do,
now, is being recorded, and can be traced. I went to a place of business a
couple of weeks ago, I won't name the place but it is a place where
transactions can be large. They no longer accept cash. Not at all. Too
much trouble and so few people use cash anymore. Plus, they have to report
cash transactions.

A twenty-one year cop with much less education than you can find out
everything you do and buy. A gov't cvlerk can find your life history (look
at what happened to 'Joe the plumber" -- 'He' doesn't matter. What happened
to him, for simply asking a question, is horrific, and no one seems to think
it is a big deal. You don't think for a few hundred dollars, someone
couldn't hire one of those firms that links to all the databases and find out
everything about you?

The typical answer is "well, my life is boring, why would anyone care". The
problem is information is power, today. Information can be used to control.
It is very upsetting to me that large numbers of people care not that their
privacy is not just being diminshed, it is disappearing. I'll keeo posting
aabout it, maybe there will be one or two people who will think about it,
tell there teenagers about it, so tht they can try their best not to leave a
constant trail, a permanent record of their every movenment. Their life or
my life is 'not' anyone else's busines, not without pre-approval.

I hope your garden is doing well. If it is in the 40's where bev lives, you
are probably already close to freezing. Brrrrrrr ...............bobford


------------------------------------------------------------------------


--- On Mon, 11/17/08, Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] SE PA going to identifiable non-cash smart cards
> fortransportation
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Monday, November 17, 2008, 5:20 AM
> You can buy a Visa Gift Card almost anywhere. It's
> pre-loaded with money and
> doesn't require an ID. Couldn't it be used in the
> kiosks to buy a smart
> card? It's a stupid way to have to go about it, but it
> would let you remain
> anonymous. It's funny; the rest of the world is getting
> more plastic, and
> I'm trying to stop using credit cards and go back to
> all cash...cash is
> still the norm here, especially in one-to-one deals (hay,
> firewood, etc.)
> since so many people work under the table and don't
> want the money
> traceable.
>
> Lynn Wigglesworth
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "bob ford" <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
> To: "Lynn Wigglesworth"
> <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>;
> <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2008 4:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] SE PA going to identifiable
> non-cash smart cards
> fortransportation
>
>
> > This is a 'different' smart card. It is not
> the same as buying smart
> > cards for train or bus in Phoenix, Philly, etc. PA
> already has the old
> > form of smart card. The person who submitted this
> link was from PA. This
> > system is based on the UK system.
> >
> > Your phone, CC, smart card, etc, to pay for fare,
> must be able to
> > identify you. You can not buy a smart card in UK for
> cash with no id.
> > Same is available with these new systems. Part of the
> patr iot a*t crap
> > gives them the excuse to know who goes where and when.
> >
> > Amtrak no longer allows cash anonymous ticket
> purchaess . Try to buy a
> > plane ticket today, with cash and no ID. This is not
> the old bus-pass
> > smart card. It will be here, too. That article just
> happened to be in
> > PA............bobford
> >
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > --- On Sun, 11/16/08, Lynn Wigglesworth
> <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> From: Lynn Wigglesworth
> <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [Homestead] SE PA going to
> identifiable non-cash smart cards
> >> fortransportation
> >> To: bobford79 AT yahoo.com,
> homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> >> Date: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 2:26 PM
> >> NYC and DC have used the 'smart cards' for
> their
> >> transit systems for years. They have vending
> machines that
> >> take credit cards or cash.
> >>
> >> Lynn Wigglesworth
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "bob
> ford"
> >> <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
> >> To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> >> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2008 3:47 PM
> >> Subject: [Homestead] SE PA going to identifiable
> non-cash
> >> smart cards fortransportation
> >>
> >>
> >> > 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.
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >
> >> > 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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> >> > Change your homestead list member options:
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> >>
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> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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