Summary

What Is It?

Automated systems to collect transit fares use "contact" fare cards that require the card to touch the reader, or "proximity" cards that need only to pass near the reader. The most common contact fare media are magnetic strip cards. The most common proximity cards use radio frequencies and are plastic.

A more recent development is a contact card that has memory and, in some cases, a microchip (also known as an integrated circuit, hence the term "integrated circuit smart cards"). This application has great potential for transit use, but important technological considerations have yet to be resolved for everyday use. More promise may lie with flash memory processors such as those used in many mobile phones.

Key Observations

There are advantages to riders and transit operators. They make transit easier to use, reduce operating costs and losses incurred during cash handling and make it easier to adjust fares.

Where Is It Implemented?

• San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system was among the first in the U.S. to adopt the magnetic strip card, which it included in its inaugural system more than 25 years ago.
• Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) SmarTrip card is a proximity card that collects fares for the authority's bus and rail systems and payment for parking at the lots it operates for its Metro rail system. More information on SmarTrip.
• Chicago Transit Authority Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus use radio frequency smart cards that the customer touches to a farebox for entry into rail stations or buses. Two versions offer two levels of flexibility. More information on Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus.
• Other places where smart card fare collection systems have been tested or deployed include Las Vegas, Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura County, CA.
• Greater Seattle/Puget Sound: seven transportation agencies will use smart card technology. The project commenced its capital implementation phase on April 29, 2003 and is intended to be operational in 2006. More information on Smart Cards in Seattle-Puget Sound.
• Related applications include "m-commerce" uses that combine cell phones with smart cards and Web interfaces to conduct commercial transactions. These could be useful for transit fare applications, but a great deal of work remains to be done on payment collection and security systems.

Challenges

These new technologies have been widely adopted by rail transit operators, but bus transit systems have been slower to integrate them. That in turn has created interoperability and compatibility obstacles.

Another barrier to smart card implementation in the U.S. is the complexity of its banking system and concerns of privacy threats posed by smart cards.

Conclusion

No matter what their final form will be, these advanced fare payment systems are rapidly replacing manual methods. 

Authors: Carli Cutchin and Phyllis Orrick 

Last update: December 13, 2004