The way that smart cards and automatic fare collection are becoming more popular around the world follows a pattern that has typified the introduction of many new technologies in recent years. Eric Russell reports.

Following a high profile period that raised the expectations of public and transport industry about smart cards and automatic fare collection, the impetus sagged when it was realised that those expectations would not be met in the short term. But now the technology has been refined and the applications fully developed, the take up is rising sharply.
In the USA, for example, Cubic Transportation Systems is working on a $26m contract for smart card-based public transit ticketing in San Diego County. The contract will provide a regional integrated smart card-based automatic fare collection system for the county's buses, trolley and rail networks. The system is also being future-proofed so it can keep up with future expansion of the transport networks.
The project's goal is to unify fare payment throughout the county. Cubic will provide the financial management capability needed for a regional smart card system with multiple operators. It should lead to increased fare revenue recovery, decrease the potential for fraud, and promote accurate and timely distribution of revenue and ridership data.
Cubic is providing a turnkey system that includes rail ticketing equipment, transit ticket vending machines, smart card validators for rail and bus lines, handheld units for code compliance enforcement, and Cubic's Nextfare Business Management System, a backend administrative and revenue management system. This enables regional operators to deliver a variety of convenience features to transit riders, including internet ticket purchasing, lost card protection services and automated transit benefit programs.
The company has also received a $37.1million contract to provide a new high-tech automatic fare collection system for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid-transit rail system. PATH is a subsidiary of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cubic is providing new open system Smart Card technology that will be integrated with New York City Transit's MetroCard system.
Cubic Transportation Systems says it is the world's largest provider of integrated electronic ticketing systems and has smart card contracts for public transit systems in North America, Europe and Asia.

Transit first

Minneapolis St Paul has become the first US transit authority to implement Philips' contactless smart card technology, MIFARE. This will improve transit ticketing in the nation's first seamless, contactless smart card automatic fare collection system provided by system integrator Cubic Transportation Systems.
The barrier-free solution includes computers, software, communications, ticket vending machines, platform and on-board smart card validators, hand held read/write devices, and will be equipped with the patented Cubic Tri-Reader architecture.
Philips also offers chip-based paper tickets based on its MIFARE UltraLight chips. These smart paper tickets can be easily integrated into existing ISO-standard compliant transportation infrastructures, significantly reducing time to market and related installation costs.
MIFARE chip solutions for smart cards and paper tickets function at a distance of up to 10cm from the reading machine with true anti-collision properties. This enables multiple cards to be read at the same time. The electronic circuitry on the card is powered by energy radiated through the radio frequency link, so the card does not need a battery of its own.
The smart cards and smart paper tickets will electronically store travel details and will enable passengers to gain quick access to the transport network. They can be reloaded at retail sales outlets or ticket vending machines. In addition, Philips' smart card ICs contain security features which will help ensure that the cards are virtually impossible to replicate, cutting down on the level of fraud.
MIFARE operates at 13.56Mhz and in full accordance with ISO14443A, the international standard for contactless smart cards and readers. Philips says it has shipped close to 300 million MIFARE chips for use in contactless smart card applications around the world.
Also in the USA, ERG Group has been working to incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with its Automatic Passenger Count (APC) and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems, based on contactless smart cards. The addition of the GPS and APC systems turns an advanced fare collection system into a comprehensive information gathering network. GPS satellites track the location of trains and buses in the system and the APC will monitor where and when the riders get on and off each bus.
The system will use this data to identify rider travel patterns, compare bus actual arrival times to the schedule, and spot repeating traffic bottlenecks. It will help improve passenger services and optimise the use of transit resources.
ERG Group develops and supplies advanced smart cards and services, automated fare collection systems and telecommunications products and services.
Contactless smart cards can accept, store and send information as they are waved past a reader. They significantly reduce the time taken to effect a transaction and will cut the queues at station barriers in rush hours in particular. The cards automatically deduct the correct fare, even without being removed from the wallet or purse, making entry simpler and faster and reducing boarding lines. The system allows for flexible, seamless travel and transfers throughout regions. It means that fares can be based on the actual distance travelled and automatically incorporate any special discounts that apply. Contactless cards are also increasingly accepted as the credential of choice for controlling physical access. They are both robust and flexible, giving security professionals the ability to reduce maintenance costs, improve employee productivity and increase security.
There is no doubt that ever more applications will be found for contactless smart cards and they will soon become an established way of life both on and off railways.
The Smart Card Alliance says there are three primary contactless technologies considered for physical access control applications: 125kHz, ISO14443, and ISO15693 technologies. One hundred and twenty-five kHz read-only technology is used by the majority of today's RFID access control systems and is based on de facto industry standards, those that have been created after commercial products and practical applications have come into general use. 125kHz technology allows for a secure, uniquely coded number to be transmitted and processed by a back-end system. The back-end system then determines the rights and privileges associated with that card.
Contactless smart card technology is based on ISO14443 and ISO15693 standards. Cards that comply with these standards are intelligent, read/write devices capable of storing different kinds of data and operating at different ranges. Standards-based contactless smart cards can authenticate a person's identity, determine the appropriate level of access, and admit the cardholder to a facility, all from data stored on the card.
These cards can include additional authentication factors such as biometric templates, PINs and other card technologies.
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association of over 175 members working to accelerate the widespread acceptance of multiple application smart card technology. It would appear that their efforts are working well.