SCA Releases White Paper Focused on Smart Card Fare Collection

Two new white
papers are now available to help transit agencies who are planning to
upgrade their fare collection systems, the Smart Card Alliance
Transportation Council said today, also announcing new officers and
steering committee for 2010.
“Transit agencies across the United States are currently upgrading or
planning to upgrade their fare collection systems, which is a
significant investment. There are many options they have to consider,
from the technologies available to the payment approaches to the costs
of implementation,” said Craig Roberts, Utah Transit Authority, and
chair of the Transportation Council. “The Transportation Council has
taken the initiative to provide resources, like these white papers, that
can assist transit agencies in making these critical decisions and
building a solid, long-term strategy for their transit systems.”
The first white paper, “Planning for New Fare Payment and Collection
Systems: Cost Considerations and Procurement Guidelines,” answers the
question: “what are the cost implications associated with fare payment
projects?” The white paper presents a conventional approach for
planning, conducting a cost analysis, and procuring a new fare payment
system or upgrading an existing system. It also provides a Microsoft
Excel-based cost model that allows users to input an agency’s current
fare payment and fare collection costs and compare them to the costs for
proposed alternative systems.
Council members involved in the development of this white paper
included: ACS, A Xerox Company; Booz Allen Hamilton; Cubic; The Garback
Group; Giesecke& Devrient; INSIDE Contactless; JPMorgan Chase;
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
The second white paper, “A Guide to Prepaid Cards for Transit Agencies,”
provides an overview of the prepaid card industry and the products
available, including network-branded prepaid cards. It provides guidance
for transit agencies evaluating the feasibility and benefits of using
prepaid cards as one element of a fare collection system that includes
open loop payment cards.
Council members involved in the development of this white paper
included: ACS, A Xerox Company; Connexum Consulting, LLC; Cubic;
Discover Financial Services; First Data Corporation; Giesecke&
Devrient; JPMorgan Chase; MasterCard Worldwide; MTA New York City
Transit; Scheidt& Bachmann; SEPTA; Thales; Utah Transit Authority.
“Because the Transportation Council is made up of experts and
stakeholders in the transportation industry, they have the unique
expertise to be able to address the broad range of transit agencies’
questions and concerns in the form of extremely valuable, useful tools
and publications,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the
Smart Card Alliance. “The industry seems to agree; the Council had more
than 6,000 downloads of their publications this past year.”
The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council is made up of more than
130 individuals from 59 organizations, including transit agencies,
payment brands, financial services providers and technology and service
providers. The officers and steering committee for the upcoming year are:
Chair: Craig Roberts, Utah Transit Authority
Vice Chair – Transit: Jerry Kane, SEPTA
Vice Chair – Parking: Ian Newberg, Parkeon
Vice Chair – Tolling: Mike Nash, ACS, A Xerox Company
Doug Deckert, Booz Allen Hamilton
David deKozan, Cubic
Michael Dinning, U.S. Department of Transportation/Volpe Center
Steve Frazzini, NYC Transit
Margaret Free, Giesecke& Devrient
Greg Garback, The Garback Group
Jennifer Garcia, Discover Financial Services
Linh Huynh, INSIDE Contactless
Paul Korczak, Korczak& Associates
Michael Laezza, Thales
Dennis Marshall, Chicago Transit Authority
Mike Meringer, VeriFone
Martin Schroeder, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Faye Surrette, MasterCard Worldwide
To download the white papers free of charge, and for more resources from
the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council, visit
http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-councils-transportation.
About the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council
The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council is focused on promoting
the adoption of interoperable contactless smart card payment systems for
transit and other transportation services. The Council is engaged in
projects that support applications of smart card use. The overall goal
of the Transportation Council is to help accelerate the deployment of
standards-based smart card payment programs within the transportation
industry.
About the Smart Card Alliance
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association
working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread
application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research,
advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its
members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The
Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry
discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin
America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.