FUNCTIONAL EVALUATION OF THE LOS ANGELES SMART CARD FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1998

Subject Area

economics - appraisal/evaluation

Keywords

Smart cards, Partnerships, Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways, Los Angeles (California), Integrated circuit cards, In situ tests, Field tests, Fare prepayment, Evaluation and assessment, Contactless fare cards, Chip cards

Abstract

This paper summarizes the functional evaluation of an Advanced Fare Payment System deployed in Los Angeles in the summer of 1994. The functional evaluation is part of a larger Field Operational Test evaluation managed by the Partnership for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The demonstration project fielded two types of advanced fare cards incorporating very different technologies on three separate transit properties as part of a relatively low cost system constructed from components manufactured to commercial rather than industrial specifications. Overall, the system performed well. Radio Frequency (RF) Cards demonstrated extremely high reliability. Smart Cards performed less well than the RF Cards, but both systems greatly surpassed the standards for magnetic stripe cards.

Comments

Transportation Research Part C Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0968090X

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS