Smart cards are just the ticket for the tube

Philips Mifare semiconductor technology is playing an important role in one of the largest contactless smart card projects in the world - the London public transportation system.

Philips Mifare semiconductor technology is playing an important role in one of the largest contactless smart card projects in the world - the London public transportation system including Transport for London and London Underground.

The TranSys consortium, led by EDS and Cubic, has selected Philips' leading contactless chip technology for use in London's Oyster smartcard project, which began the first phase of rollout by issuing Philips Mifare-equipped cards to 80,000 staff.

TranSys is working with Transport for London and London Underground to create and manage a world-class smart card ticketing system designed to make travel in the UK capital faster, easier and more convenient for London's regular travellers.

The cards eliminate the need to insert tickets in slots by transmitting information effortlessly.

This enables faster movement through ticket gates at underground stations and on to buses.

The Oyster smartcard itself is at the heart of the system and will be introduced in phases to customers from spring next year, starting with annual and monthly season ticket holders.

An estimated seven million journeys are completed every day on London's public transport system.

TranSys is responsible for the design, build and implementation of the new ticketing and revenue collection system.

The 17-year project will create one of the most advanced, flexible and integrated systems of its kind in the world.

Central to the project is TranSys' use of Philips' contactless Mifare ICs within smart cards.

Philips' contactless ICs electronically store travel details on cards enabling passengers to gain quick access to the transport network.

As the system uses RFID chip technology, passengers no longer need to stop and insert tickets into gates thereby increasing passenger throughput and reducing congestion at peak travel periods.

Instead customers will touch the Oyster card on card readers situated on top of gates and on entry to buses.

Philips' smart card ICs contain security features to ensure that the cards are virtually impossible to replicate, cutting down on the level of fraud.

"With the introduction of a world-class smart card ticketing infrastructure, TranSys is transforming the travel experience for passengers around one of the world's busiest cities", said Nicole Carroll, Marketing Director of TranSys.

"Philips' Mifare is the industry benchmark for contactless smart cards making it the natural choice for a project of this scale.

It has more than an 80% global share in this market and was able to offer TranSys a reliable, fully ISO14443-compliant technology alongside in-depth expertise and a proven track record in the implementation of similar revenue collection schemes worldwide".

"London's Oyster project is one of the largest contactless smart card initiatives in the world.

It is being watched carefully by the transport industry and will set the standard for the roll-out of similar schemes across Europe", said Karsten Ottenberg, senior vice president and general manager of Identification at Philips Semiconductors.

"To date Philips has shipped more than 250 million Mifare chips and we are delighted that our leading technology has been chosen for London".

ISO14443 is the international standard for contactless smart card technology.

The new ticketing infrastructure in London has been developed in full accordance with this standard and is one of the largest ISO-compliant smart card projects of its kind in the world.

Philips' Mifare portfolio - the established industry benchmark for contactless and dual interface smart card schemes - operates in full accordance with this standard.

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