Smart cards debut at JFK's BA terminal

A new security line at JFK's British Airways terminal opened this week for commuters willing to pay a $100 annual fee and submit to a background check conducted by the Transportation Security Administration, reports Newyorkology.com.

Commuters are issued with smart cards with their personal information, as well as fingerprint and iris scan information. Interested parties can sign up online, and over 35 000 people have already applied.

According to the site, the three-second security check will include a pass through a bomb-sniffing security device, and more terminals are planned, including for Air France.

Indian citizens will be issued with a new ID smart card in March, containing personal information as well as a photograph and fingerprint, reports Indiadaily.org. The Registrar General of India is taking responsibility for the exercise.

With the distribution of the cards, a network of card-reading machines will be also distributed across the country, particularly at border areas.

The project is ambitions, and would take many years to complete, Indiadaily reports.

Smart cards are easing travel fare woes by providing commuters with a single fare card that can be used for various modes of transport, an initiative that was started in November, reports USA Today.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) says it is trying to make transport in metropolitan areas as seamless as possible, as citizens live in a society that demands convenience, and where public transportation grew 3% to 7.8 billion trips in the first nine months of 2006, APTA says.

The newspaper states that several cities are testing or rolling out the new cards, which in some cases deduct fares directly from a commuter's bank account or credit card.