At a hearing last month before Congress, the Transportation Security Administration admitted that enrollment for the Transport Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, which was scheduled to start by last spring, would be pushed back to the upcoming fall. Delays after delays are leaving many legislators frustrated. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a senior member of Congress: “They’re really inept, or they don’t care. They just don’t seem fazed by this at all. They’ve run out of time, and they keep coming up with these lame excuses.” According to Canadian Transportation & Logistics, these delays are hurting the credibility of the TSA in the eyes of Congress, leaving some legislators questioning whether TWIC will ever become a reality. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/archive-4.gif)
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The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology. “One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “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.” read more »Russia has pushed back the launch of its universal eID card to January 2013, reports The Moscow Times. Originally scheduled to roll out this month, the card is supposed to function as an electronic ID, driver’s license, proof of auto insurance, ATM card and immigration document, along with other possible features. read more »UK mobile operator O2 is delaying the launch of its “O2 Wallet” mobile contactless payments, loyalty and transit app due to concerns that it is “not yet offering an adequate customer experience,” reports MarketingWeek. read more »After a nearly three-year delay, the Algerian government has finally launched its biometric passport program. Magharebia reports that the biometric passports, which contain a contactless smart card chip that holds a digitized photo, fingerprints and signature, were supposed to be released in 2009. But the documents were delayed due to complexities with the operation of the project and the need to thoroughly research and analyze other countries’ experiences with biometric passports. read more »UK-regional bus group Bluestar has launched a new transit card for discounted weekly and monthly travel on its network, according to Southern Daily Echo. The new card enables cashless fare for any service on the Bluestar Network in Southampton, Eastleigh and Winchester. It also supports travel on Wilts & Dorset buses and Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, both of which are owned and operated by Go-Ahead Group. read more »Codebench Inc. and S2 Security Corp. announced that Codebench’s PIVCheck Plus software suite, a card validation, authentication, and registration solution for HSPD-12 compliance, now integrates with the S2 NetBox Extreme and Enterprise systems from S2 Security Corporation. read more » |
