Hundreds of thousands of commuters in Tokyo got a free ride to work this morning after a systems glitch caused more than 7,000 ticket gates at 662 railway stations to fail. The gates, which allow passengers with contactless smart cards to access the railway, did not start working when the system was opened. Rail operators allowed passengers to get on trains at no charge because of the problem. A large number of passengers use the contactless cards and forcing them to buy paper tickets would have meant long lines and congestion at railway stations during the morning rush hour. While the cause of the failure is not yet known, the fault appears to lie with the manufacturer of the ticket gates, Nippon Signal Co., according to a report by Computer World. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/archive-4.gif)
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Southern Railway announced it is bringing its smart card scheme, called “the key,” to stations between Brighton and Bexhill/Eastboard via Lewes. The new smart card technology is environmentally friendly - an alternative to paper tickets - while also making it easier and quicker for passengers to buy and use tickets. The smart card is reusable and can be recharged again and again with weekly and monthly season tickets. read more »The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) released a statement concerning a glitch in its Clipper card system, and the blame for overcharging certain AC Transit passengers, according to SFExaminer.com. read more »The NFC Forum and WIMA, a worldwide event dedicated to NFC technology, have announced the winners of their Tap Into Innovation: NFC Global Competition 2012. read more »survey conducted on behalf of MasterCard Worldwide by Harris Interactive reveals that U.S. transit riders are ready to kick cash to the curb in favor of contactless payments. Commuters also want to consolidate their mass transit tickets into one card that can be use across multiple transit systems. read more »Two teams of NFC developers have been awarded kick-starter funds after being named winners at Isobar and O2’s “Isobar Create London,” a 34-hour challenge which brought together more than 65 international developers and designers at the Shoreditch Studios in London this weekend. read more »Adelaide, a coastal city located in the South Australia, has initiated the roll out of a smart card system across the local transport network, according to AdelaideNow. read more » |
