01046145

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1992-06

http://scholar.google.com...ylor&publication_year=2007

Smart card technologies offer public transit agencies unprecedented opportunity to price services flexibly by time, distance, and mode and in conjunction with neighboring transit operators. They also can simplify boarding, streamline accounting, and provide better passenger data. Some transit systems have moved quickly to adopt smart card fare media, others are moving more cautiously, and still others eschew smart cards—at least for now. Why such differences? U.S. transit agencies were surveyed to gauge current levels of interest in smart card technologies as next-generation fare media; examine knowledge and perceptions of costs, benefits, and risks of smart card adoption; and determine the status of system implementation, the degree of planning toward implementation, and the levels of participation in interagency collaboration to realize interoperability. Factors common to agencies that have and have not adopted smart card technology also were examined. Results indicate that the consideration and adoption of smart card technologies and interoperable systems vary by funding availability and partnerships with other operators in joint projects for intelligent transportation systems. Perceptions of benefits, costs, and risks of such technologies also vary by status of smart card system planning and implementation. Managers often are uncertain about the costs in general and the benefits in particular of such a move, especially regarding interoperable systems. History predicts the future: technologically sophisticated operators tend to embrace smart cards, whereas those working collaboratively with other transit agencies are most likely to adopt interoperable systems.

01077203

English

pp 45-53

2007

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309104180

Print

References (15) ; Tables (9)

Cooperation; Fare and toll prepayment; Fare collection; Fares; Interoperability; Public transit; Smart cards; Smart materials; Technological innovations; Transit operating agencies; Transit operators

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 8 2007 7:43PM

• Accuracy and Precision of the Transit Tracker System
• Another Look at FTA-Approved Sampling Plans for Fixed-Route Bus Services
• Bursting the Bubble: Determining Transit-Oriented Development’s Walkable Limits
• City CarShare: Longer-Term Travel Demand and Car Ownership Impacts
• Emergency Evacuation Planning and Preparedness of Transit Facilities: Traffic Simulation Modeling
• Growth in Worldwide Carsharing: An International Comparison
• Impact of Rising Fuel Prices on U.S. Transit Ridership
• Maturity of Key Technologies Provides More Options for Transit and Paratransit Planners
• Quantifying Position Accuracy of Multimodal Data from Global Positioning System–Enabled Cell Phones
• System Planning for Quality Transit Projects
• Transit Ridership, Automobile Gas Prices, and World Events: New Drivers of Change?
• Use of Archived Bus Location, Dispatch, and Ridership Data for Transit Analysis
• Where Does Carsharing Work? Using Geographic Information Systems to Assess Market Potential