Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

San Francisco to rebrand TransLink cards

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Starting June 16th, San Francisco will begin issuing new Clipper smart transit cards in place of existing TransLink passes.

The new Clipper cards, which get their name from the speedy ships, work in the exact same way as TransLink, only the smart chip is embedded within the card, rather than displayed on the front.


Old TransLink cards will still be accepted on the Bay Area’s public transit system, including AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit and Ferry, and Muni, and Translink says there will be no difference in the way you use your card to pay your fare, add value to the card, and so on.

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The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology.

“One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy.”

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UK-regional bus group Bluestar has launched a new transit card for discounted weekly and monthly travel on its network, according to Southern Daily Echo.

The new card enables cashless fare for any service on the Bluestar Network in Southampton, Eastleigh and Winchester. It also supports travel on Wilts & Dorset buses and Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, both of which are owned and operated by Go-Ahead Group.

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Cubic Transportation Systems, distributor of the electronic transit Clipper card, has responded to the recent news of a Ph.D. student in IT Security allegedly breaking the encryption in Clipper and similar transit cards.

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Global Industry Analysts Inc. released a report forecasting the outlook on the global smart card market to reach 10.9 billion units by 2015.

GIA credits the growth driven largely by major initiatives in the financial, government and security sectors, with the telecom sector at the way ahead of the pack as the largest end-user. Increasing usage of contactless technology, newer applications and mandatory EMV migration across countries are also major drivers boosting the global market for smart cards.

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India transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. has launched a smart transit card for commuters traveling on the region’s bus system, according to ISO&Agent.

The agency began a six-month trial and August 2010 followed by a soft and silent launch in January 2012. The card is available now for a nonrefundable fee of 25 rupees ($.50 US cents) and allows commuters to travel for up to 100 minutes on one bus, for the minimum fare.

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MasterCard announced that it intends to present its contactless payment cards to Azerbaijani financial market in 2012.

According to abc.az, MasterCard is in negotiation with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, as well as Azerbaijan private banks regarding the implementation of projects on non-cash payments and the introduction of contactless cards for payments for applications in transit, dining and entertainment.

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