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Instead of testing a universal-access card system along the lines of Hong Kong's octopus card, the MTA has fallen prey to the corporate boondoggle of MasterCard and Citigroup by agreeing to test PayPass readers at turnstiles on the 4, 5 and 6 lines in Manhattan, as well as two key outerborough hubs. As the New York Post reports, During a six-month trial paid for by the two companies, Citibank will offer certain customers debit/credit cards and matching key-chain fobs embedded with special chips that can be read by radio frequencies instead of magnetic stripes.
Why is this short-sighted? Because it represents a further degradation of the public interest by a quasi-governmental agency. PayPass technology, akin to the crappy new frequent-traveler technology in use at various airports around the U.S., doesn't promote a universal technology. It just promotes whichever corporate entity can blindside authorities (in this case the MTA, in the other case the TSA) into adapting its for-profit technology. Sure, it makes life slightly easier for the traveler, but there are tradeoffs: PayPass is not the best available system, and it certainly puts less wealthy customers at a disadvantage. I don't want to be a Luddite on this, but there are also ID theft concerns with PayPass that are mitigated by other systems. Meanwhile, RFID has so many interesting possibilities; so why adapt PayPass, which isn't terribly innovative? It's really cutting edge for a Burger King or a Mobil station in Kansas, though.
Why does this matter? Riders will still get every sixth ride free but will not be able to make free transfers to buses, which will not be equipped with the new readers. In other words, this test won't even explore how dynamic an electronic-pay system could possibly be. What about a card that would offer seamless transportation on PATH, the LIRR, and even that biggest boondoggle of all, the multibillion-dollar AirTrain? (Amazing how 20 years later it still takes longer to get from JFK to lower Manhattan via AirTrain A train than it used to on the shuttle bus JFK Express train.) Suburban riders would definitely like to see a monthly pass that allow travel on multiple systems.
As the article concludes: Next month, the Port Authority will begin testing different smart-card readers on the PATH train as part of a joint program with the MTA and NJ Transit. That test — which doesn't use PayPass technology — could one day lead to a universal transit card. Sure, one day. In 2015? Meanwhile, other transit systems around the world are years ahead of ours because they've had the fortitude and foresight to adapt a technology that serves all the customers in its wider region. Ours hasn't even got a contract for its unionized workers.
Tags:
airtrain, lirr, mta, nj transit, octopus card, path, paypass, smart card, subway
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Posted on 1/31/2006
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