RFID in German mass-trasit electronic ticketing system

[martin.knoepfel]

The same procedure exists in skiing-resorts. You just have to have your card on the side where the card reader is located. However, these possibilities raise concern as far as monitoring is concerned. Whoever has access to the data can not only check whether a passenger has a valid ticket, he can as well find out when and where somebody is travelling.

[dldance]

RFID hooks ride on German mass transit
German e-ticketing system combines smart card with RFID

By John Blau, IDG News Service
April 22, 2005

Efforts to introduce electronic-ticketing systems in Germany's huge mass transit sector have moved forward with the successful testing of a smart card system that combines RFID (radio frequency identification).

T-Systems International, the IT services and infrastructure arm of German telco Deutsche Telekom, has developed an e-ticketing system in collaboration with the German Mass Transit Authority (VDV), which represents hundreds of regional bus and train companies in the country, said Frankfurt-based T-Systems in a statement on Thursday.

The system consists of several components: the so-called "VDV core application," a semiconductor-based smart card equipped with a miniature antenna, RFID technology for retrieving data from the cards over the airwaves, and sensor-based card readers.

The technology allows passengers to pass by a card reader without having to swipe or insert their cards into the device.

Customer data, such as identification number and pricing, are contained on a chip embedded in the smart card. "This is not an RFID chip, which essentially is dumb, but a chip that contains an operating and software application," said T-Systems spokesman Albert Hold. "All data is encrypted for secure transmission."

RFID is used in the process because the radio technology doesn't require the embedded chips to be powered in order to retrieve information, according to Hold. Also, the cards can be read remotely.

"With our system, passengers don't have to remove the cards from their wallets," he said.