Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

Dulles, Reagan and Oakland go Clear

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Verified Identity Pass Inc., New York, will provide registered traveler services to Oakland International Airport, Dulles International and Reagan National Airports. Verified Identity Pass, operator of Clear the card, is approved by the Transportation Security Administration to provide registered traveler services.

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners approved an ordinance selecting Clear to provide express passenger security lane services at the airport. The ordinance enables the airport to move forward with allocating space to Clear at the passenger screening checkpoints in Terminals 1 and 2 so that it can open registered traveler enrollment stations next month and express lanes soon after.

Enrollment is already available in the Washington area. Clear enrollment stations are already operating at the American Express Travel Office at 15th and K Streets and in the Congressional Federal Credit Union in the Longworth House Office Building. Additional stations will be installed by early February at the airports and at area hotels. All airlines operating from the Washington-area airports, and their passengers, will be able to use Clear’s fast pass lanes within weeks. Verified Identity Pass already has signed up more than 2,000 DC-area residents at flyclear.com.

Applicants start their enrollment via Clear’s Web site. The process is completed at the airports enrollment station where their photograph, fingerprints and iris images are captured, and two pieces of approved government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license and passport, are verified. An annual cost of $100, plus a $28 TSA pre-screening fee, is charged once the federal government approves an applicant. [end] 

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.”

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Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, has announced the launch of a SIM-based NFC road toll payment application on the Turkcell T11 smart phone.

Developed in collaboration with Bank Asya, the app allows users to migrate their plastic KGS toll payment cards onto their T11 smart phone to pay for fares when crossing bridges and freeway turnpikes.

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Department of Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano and Transportation Security Administration Administrator John S. Pistole announced the expansion of TSA PreCheck, a passenger pre-screening initiative, to additional airports across the country following the program’s success at seven pilot locations.

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HID Global has announced the successful completion of the world’s first university pilot of NFC smart phones carrying digital keys.

First announced in September, the pilot involved a select group of students and staff at Arizona State University using NFC-enabled smart phones equipped with HID’s Secure Identity Object (SIO) Technology. Participants could gain access to their residence halls and other secure access areas by tapping their handset against a reader embedded in the door and entering a PIN, rather than use their plastic campus card.

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India transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. has launched a smart transit card for commuters traveling on the region’s bus system, according to ISO&Agent.

The agency began a six-month trial and August 2010 followed by a soft and silent launch in January 2012. The card is available now for a nonrefundable fee of 25 rupees ($.50 US cents) and allows commuters to travel for up to 100 minutes on one bus, for the minimum fare.

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The Peninsula Taxi Association (PTA) in South Africa has launched a electronic fare collection system, granting commuters cashless fare and discounts when using the newly developed contactless-enabled transit card, according to The Cape Times.

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