Contactless Smart Cards for MRT
Published on 20 Feb 2006 at 6:13 am.
12 Comments.
Filed under Wireless, Gadgets.
Well well well, what have we got here?
I saw this gadget at the Shaw Blvd station of the MRT last Saturday. Looks familiar!
I’ve written about this before in my first Edong’s Dream (mobile phone entry to MRT stations) and when a mobile phone MRT ticket prototype came out in June 2005.
The gadget is an upgrade of a contact less smart card MRT ticket sensor. The contact less smart card needs to be swiped/tapped on the sensor for the MRT gate to be opened. The smart card doesn’t need to touch the sensor. Just bring the smart card close to the sensor (around 1-3 inches) and the sensor will detect the card.
The smart card is designed to be installed inside the cellphone of commuters. It will be small and thin, just enough to be slipped inside the casing of most phones, in between the battery and the phone. It has nothing to do with Bluetooth, IR or RFID.
The smart card has nothing to do with m-commerce in the strict sense. It’s to be put in the phone only because the phone is one “standard” that most people carry around. The smart card will be pre-paid. To be loaded up with another machine, hopefully automated too (like a ticket vendo).
After almost a year after I saw the prototype, it looks like the MRT is still in testing stage for this new ticketing system. (No banner announcements of it’s official launch in the station). It’s progress, considering that they continue to work on a hardware upgrade.
Goodluck to the MRT and the supplier of this smart card ticketing. Hope it reduces the looooooonnnng lines at the MRT stations.
ka edong
tuloy pa rin ako
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Migs on 20 Feb 2006 at 9:20 pm: 1
I see this all the time since I ride at Shaw.
Is this why stored value cards are always unavailable?
ka edong on 22 Feb 2006 at 7:42 am: 2
I think the unavailability of stored value cards was because of some printing problem. lousy. hassle
ka edong on 24 Feb 2006 at 11:51 am: 3
looks like they’re implementing the wireless project across the entire MRT. I’ve seen the sensors in other stations (Ortigas and GMA)
jong on 28 Feb 2006 at 9:33 pm: 4
saw it in Ayala station…
matanglawin on 4 Mar 2006 at 4:41 pm: 5
the stored value card was unavailable for some time because gma ordered the mrt management to recall all value cards with erap photos on it. nagselos eh. yan tuloy public ang naghirap…
ka edong on 4 Mar 2006 at 9:51 pm: 6
Hi matanglawin,
I don’t agree.
I think it was a logistics, supply chain mistake by LRTAdminstration. If they were able to supply (for example) double the number to tickets that they cancelled (those erap tickets), there wouldn’t be a problem, right?
Nevertheless, it still remains an un-resolved issue because they still have ticket shortages every so often.
and yes, agree, public ang naghihirap dahil sa kanilang kakulangan.
ka edong
The Unlawyer on 18 Jul 2006 at 2:30 am: 7
[…] Its been several months since Technobiography spotted these things - which suspiciously look like those contactless RFID terminals used by Singapore’s EZLink or Hong Kong’s Octopus Card - installed on top of some turnstiles used in Metro Manila’s rapid transit system. […]
Technobiography » G-Pass: Use your Cellphone to Enter the MRT on 26 Jul 2006 at 6:43 am: 8
[…] Contactless Smart Cards for MRT […]
Technobiography » Globe’s G-Pass for the MRT on 15 Aug 2006 at 9:57 pm: 9
[…] ka edong tech usiyosero Related links: G-Pass article on Libre (added Aug 15, 2006) G-Pass photos (July 30, 2006) G-Pass thoughts (July 24, 2006 prior to G-Pass launch) Contactless Smart Cards for MRT (Feb 2006) MRT Musings - “Cellphone mo, MRT card na (June 2005) Edong’s Dreams - I: Cellphone to enter the MRT (September 2004) Related Articles on Technobiography: […]
ysa on 13 Sep 2006 at 12:48 pm: 10
wow! finally, they have thought of a way in solving the looooong queue at the mrt. it will be a great help to us commuters should it materialized. hmmm…i wonder if the testing stage is over. is it operational now ka_eds?
ka edong on 15 Sep 2006 at 6:26 pm: 11
hi ysa,
Opo, gumagana na. Heto po: G-Pass for the MRT
Kay on 13 Sep 2007 at 11:45 pm: 12
“It has nothing to do with Bluetooth, IR or RFID.”
It is RFID technology.