Skip to main content

Smart Card Alliance white paper explores possibilities for NFC in transit industry

With near field communication (NFC)-enabled handsets poised to exceed 100 million in 2012, the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has announced a new white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of this popular new technology.
March 14, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
With near field communication (NFC)-enabled handsets poised to exceed 100 million in 2012, the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has announced a new white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of this popular new technology.

"One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalise on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy," said Craig Roberts, Utah Transit Authority, and chair of the Transportation Council. "This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy."

The white paper, "NFC and Transit," is available for free download by visiting www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/publications-near-field-communication-and-transit. It explores the use of NFC for payment, transit ticketing and non-payment transit information applications.

"In order to fully realise the benefits of NFC technology, transit agencies need to immerse themselves into the operational details of the NFC ecosystem and thoroughly understand the technology and business models," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "This white paper is another piece of the puzzle in terms of fully educating the industry on the ins and outs of NFC."

Participants involved in the development of this white paper included: 1968 Accenture; 13 ACS, 1750 American Express; Ashok Joshi; Collis; Connexem Consulting; 378 Cubic Transportation Systems; 1275 Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART); Giesecke & Devrient; HP Enterprise Services; Identive Group; Infineon Technologies; Inside Secure; JPMorgan Chase; LTK Engineering Services; 1756 MasterCard Worldwide; MTA New York City Transit; NJ Transit; 566 NXP Semiconductors; OTI America; Quadagno & Associates; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA); 324 US Department of Transportation/Volpe Center; VeriFone; 1758 Visa; and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Related Content

  • August 22, 2017
    Chicago Transit Authority’s Ventra mobile app hits two million downloads
    Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Ventra mobile app, implemented by Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS, and also used by suburban bus operator Pace and commuter rail system Metra, has reached a milestone with a download of more than two million and was used to purchase nearly US$250 million in fares. The Ventra app, developed and launched by Cubic, CTA and its transit partners in November 2015, is a free, regional transit application in the US that allows customers to plan, manage and pay for journeys ac
  • November 7, 2014
    White Paper focuses on British Columbia infrastructure needs
    With the economic prosperity of British Columbia and Western Canada relying increasingly on global trade and our ability to deliver goods to foreign markets, the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) has released Building BC for the 21st Century: A White Paper on Infrastructure Policy and Financing in advance of its second annual BC Business Summit today. The paper examines the existing infrastructure networks – including transport, utilities, telecommunications, hospitals and schools – and their
  • May 29, 2013
    Cubic unveils new virtual ticketing office
    According to Cubic Transportation Systems, its newly-launched NextAgent is a radical new concept in transport ticketing using high-speed video links that enable passengers to interact with ticketing staff in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A hybrid of ticket office, call centre and ticket vending machine, NextAgent enables transit operators to respond to a number of significant trends in ticketing, including a preference from some passengers for the regular or occasional option of purchasing tic
  • November 17, 2016
    Cubic and Mastercard study shows impact of New York’s car free day
    Following a request from New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to measure the impact of Car Free Day NYC held in April, Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and Mastercard have now published their report about transportation demand and retail impact assessment resulting from the initiative. Rodriguez organised the initiative with a strong coalition of local support towards the goal of reducing single-occupancy vehicle use and stimulating dialogue around environmental issues. The assessment leveraged