MTA Wants Smart Card In Place By 2014

Here's something you should take the over on: The MTA says it wants to implement new smart card fare payment technology for its family of services by 2014! Then again, it's not like it's building a Second Avenue Subway. In a Q&A (PDF) about its 2010-2014 Capital Plan, the MTA says that $220 million is dedicated to the program, which will "accept contactless credit, debit, and prepaid cards at the fare array (e.g., subway turnstiles, bus fareboxes, rail platforms). This system will speed payment, improve access to the system and provide opportunities for more seamless fare policy throughout the MTA region."

Contactless payment has been something the MTA has been considering for a while—it's been brought up since 2004 and $44 million was dedicated to it in 2005, resulting in the MTA-Citibank experiment with keyfobs. The new MTA Chairman & CEO Jay Walder is a big Smart Card fan—he brought the Oyster Card to London's Underground.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 25, 2009 11:03 AM

Comments [rss]

Trilby16

This should not be a top priority for the crumbling NY transit system, even tho' Hong Kong already has it. Plus, I would be reluctant to give the dull-normals at the MTA unfettered access to my personal bank account. I would have to open a separate account to deal with this. Not high on my to-do list!

whitecastlerock

Why invest $220 fucking million dollars towards this bullshit when the entire system is crumbling?

JenChungsBaby

Clever use of gambling terminology by the Chungster!

Matt Joyce

Uhm not that I wouldn't mind something other than the metrocard ( which stores solely a unique identifier that is used with an atm network to look up the value of the card.. and is thusly not at risk of distributing sensitive data to thieves and jerks ), it's just... the MTA could really put that money to MUCH MUCH MUCH better use.

PTG in nyc

So, read between the lines, what the MTA really means is that they'd like to implement this system by 2022?

Wza

bwahahaha!

valeriob

That and 12 dollar fares in order to implement the new system's 'new costs'

PathToWisdom

Hong Kong has a prepaid, non contact system

for how many years now? over 10 years?

And if the card has owner's info, like senior discount,

the turnstile will light up student fare, senior discount or regular fare,

so that the cops will know whether you are using

your mother's card, or a child's card.

Even the Path train has a better system.

MTA still uses a stupid old system

that steals money from us?

What does that say about NYC?

Richard Lopez

Path still accepts metrocards ( pay-per-ride) only

ianmac47

Actually, the PATH system's smart card was built to the specifications originally set by the MTA in conjunction with NJ Transit, so really they are using the old MTA smartcard system on the PATH. Of course, many people just use a pay-per-ride metro card, which can be used on BOTH the PATH and the NYC subway.

FakeGreenDress

The PATH cards use the same mifare system that London uses, and I had to stop carrying my Oyster card because it would confuse the PATH turnstiles to no end. Even my employee ID card interferes -- I have to be careful which side of my wallet is facing the machine when I go to add money to my SmartLink. If my ID card is between the SmartLink card and the machine, I get an error.