[Transit-allegheny] Fwd: Smart Card Questions

[Glenn A. Walsh]

To:   Richard Snyder, Vehicle Procurement Specialist
      Port Authority of Allegheny County
From: Glenn A. Walsh
Copy: Allegheny County Transit Council

On January 18, I e-mailed to you some questions
regarding your preseentation, before the PAT Board, on
the proposed implementing of a "Smart Card" fare
system. I have yet to receive any reply.

"Smart Cards" and other new technologies, which will
help the Port Authority increase efficiency and reduce
operating costs, are always welcome. However, the
various impacts on PAT customers must be addressed, as
new technologies almost always have impacts on people
that need to be addressed.

When can I expect a reply to the questions, which are
copied following this message? Here are the questions:

--- "Glenn A. Walsh" <gawalsh at planetarium.cc> wrote:

> Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:41:27 -0800 (PST)
> From: "Glenn A. Walsh" <gawalsh at planetarium.cc>
> Subject: Smart Card Questions
> To: Richard Snyder <rsnyder at portauthority.org>
> CC: Jon Wilson Smith <jon.smith35 at verizon.net>, 
>     "Glenn A. Walsh" <gawalsh at planetarium.cc>
> 
> To:   Richard Snyder, Vehicle Procurement Specialist
>       Port Authority of Allegheny County
> From: Glenn A. Walsh
> Copy: Jon Wilson Smith,
>       Allegheny County Transit Council
> 
> Thank you for the presentation, this morning, on the
> Port Authority's Smart Card project. This raises, in
> my mind, several questions.
> 
> 1) How much personal information will be embedded in
> each Smart Card and how will this personal
> information
> be used? One immediate concern would be the Port
> Authority, or other public officials, having the
> ability to monitor an individual's
> comings-and-goings
> through Smart Card transactions on buses and rail
> cars.
> 
> Also, how long will records be kept of Smart Card
> transactions? With E-Z Pass and other electronic
> records, it has already been shown that the Courts
> may
> mandate the turning-over of these records based on a
> legal warrant.
> 
> You may be aware that PAT was engaged in a
> Federally-funded research project, regarding
> possible
> implementation of a Smart Card system, more than a
> decade ago. After the project was completed, PAT
> chose, at that time, not to go forward with Smart
> Card
> implementation. I beleve that privacy concerns were
> one of the reasons the system was not implemented at
> that time.
> 
> 2) If a Smart Card is lost by a customer, how will
> this be handled? Will a customer be charged for
> replacement of the Smart Card [for that matter, will
> there be an initial charge for the customer
> receiving
> the Smart Card?]?
> 
> And, legally, who will own the Smart Card. Will the
> individual legally own the Smart Card or will the
> Port
> Authority own the Smart Card? In the case of Bank
> ATM
> cards, banks usually claim that they own the
> card--but, then, they do not charge the customer for
> the card.
> 
> If a customer loses a Smart Card, will it be
> possible
> to deactivate that particular card, so someone else
> cannot use the value on the card?
> 
> 3) If a Smart Card becomes defective [i.e. it stops
> operating properly], how does this affect the
> customer?
> 
> Right now, I have an annual pass subscription. So, I
> flash my monthly annual pass to the transit operator
> and there is no problem. However, if my new annual
> pass proximity card becomes defective, is the
> operator
> going to demand that I pay full fare? Could some
> type
> of colored sticker or something be placed on my
> Smart
> Card, so if it becomes defective, I can still show
> it
> to the operator and he knows that I have a valid
> annual/monthly/weekly/daily pass?
> 
> 4) I am not sure what you meant when you said that a
> Senior Citizen card could not be a Smart Card. As
> you
> issue specific PAT Senior Citizen cards now, you
> could
> simply issue a Senior Citizen Smat Card in the same
> way. Again, as I mentioned with an inoperable Smart
> Card, there should be a way that an operator can
> tell
> that the person has a valid Senior Citizen card if
> their Smart Card becomes inoperable.
> 
> Of course as required by Federal law, Medicare Cards
> would still have to be honored. And, some day, the
> Federal Government may convert these to Smart Cards.
> 
> 5) Finally, in the materials that were passed-out,
> and
> shown on the monitors, it stated "Day pass
> application
> - Eliminate Transfer" Yet, this was not included in
> your presentation.
> 
> Does this mean what it says it means? Is it the
> intention to eliminate all paper transfers?
> 
> If it is the intention to eliminate paper transfers,
> how could this be done? 
> 
> I have been a strong proponent of the Day Pass [as I
> have seen it operate in Cleveland, Washington,
> Baltimore, and other cities]. I was a strong
> proponent
> of the "Weekend Pass" PAT had many years ago. And,
> soon after Steve Bland arrived, I suggested that a
> Day
> Pass be implemented.
> 
> However, how could a Day Pass take the place of a
> transfer--unless the Day Pass was priced EXTREMELY
> low? So long as cash fares are permitted, I see no
> way
> that paper transfers could be eliminated. Such an
> elimination would be extremely unfair to very
> low-income individuals who cannot afford to spend
> money on a Day Pass, if they are only going one
> direction [they may get a ride for the return trip
> IF
> they are returning].
> 
> I am sure you are aware that Common Pleas Court and
> Commonwealth Court, recently, BOTH forbade SEPTA
> from
> eliminating paper transfers. I just do not see how
> PAT
> could eliminate transfers and satisfy the Courts, so
> long as cash fares are accepted.
> 
> gaw
> 
> Glenn A. Walsh
> Electronic Mail - < gawalsh at planetarium.cc >
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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh at planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://incline.pghfree.net >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >


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