November 6, 2007
DMV to Add SmarTrip Chips in D.C. Driver's Licenses
The Examiner reports on a new DMV program that would install SmarTrip chips into every new D.C. driver's license and identification card beginning in October, 2008.
The program is a combined effort by the agency and WMATA, the latter of which has made no secret of its intention to make universal conversion to SmarTrip a priority. Recently Metro General Manager John Catoe made SmarTrip cards available for sale at more Giant Food stores and announced his desire to do away with the $5 fee eventually in order to encourage all residents to use the cards, which reduce waiting times on buses and at Metrorail fare gates.
The Examiner quotes a couple of civil libertarian groups who are upset with the plan, and are voicing concerns about the potential use of the technology to track individual movements through the public transportation system. Metro insists it has very strict privacy rules in place that prevent it from releasing information from SmarTrip cards except to law enforcement or at the individual's request.
We're no fans of potential government invasions of personal privacy, but we're not really sure we see the difference between using a registered SmarTrip card and having one linked to your driver's license. What do you think?
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My SmartTrip cards usually last approximately a year. In fact, I just replaced mine a week or two ago. Will this one be more heavy duty or will it quickly become useless?
I have no problem with this so long as I can still hack the chip to give me unlimited free Metro rides and lets me enter God mode in Quake Arena.
This should also come with a +1 broadsword and a Helm of Summoning that gives my paladin a +2 IQ, because he really needs the IQ. After that dwarf ambush, his brain hasn't been the same since.
So does this mean that if some uses their license Smart Trip to enter a metro station and then shoot somebody, that Jim Graham will shut down the DMV???
This is best thing I've heard in ages!!! And to all the civil libertarians out there I say just don't use the bloody thing...no one is forcing you to, but don't prevent it from being available for those of us who do want to use it.
And really, lets be honest shall we...if you live in the District "they" can find/track you if "they" want to...
No more lending out the SmarTrip card to out-of-town friends or relatives if it's part of your driver's license.
Now, will they be printing the unique ID needed to sign up for SmartBenefits on the back, or using your driver's license number?
Bob's question was actually the first thing that popped into my head. I'm all for carrying one less card, and connecting it to my license seems no different priviacy-wise than registering it with WMATA. But I'm not sure I want to have to deal with getting a new license too when my SmarTrip card stops working (which already happened to me twice and is bound to happen again).
I think a SmarTrip/credit card would be handier. If you forgot to close your tab at the bar you'd realize it when you tried to go home, so you could go back and get your card right away instead of the next day.
Bob, what do you do to your SmarTrip card? Put it in your bike wheel spokes? I've had the same card for little over six years. Still going strong.
Bob: Are you serious? I have my original SmarTrip card, which I got when they first became available. How does a SmarTrip card not last forever?
Moose: You can still have a stand-alone SmarTrip card in addition to the functionality on you DL. In fact, you can have several SmarTrip cards if you want or need them.
Southwest DC -- they exist. Citibank has a SmarTrip/credit card combo. And it gives you 5% back on Metro fare purchases credited to the card.
You can find it here
It would be nice if they made a ST card that could be read through ladies' wallets.
Hey, if I had a driver's license, why would I be taking metro?
kidding, sort of, but this just sounds goofy to me.
Ha, how about that! Technology is awesome. I was thinking a SmartTrip/Giant/Safeway/CVS card would be useful too, and would have fewer privacy issues.
If you register your SmartTrip with WMATA (which you should) then they can track you throughout metro anyways. If you register and lose your card, you can have your money replaced to the amount when you misplaced it - im sure within a reasonable time period.
As much as I like this idea, is it really necessary? Not everyone has a drivers license and what about people in VA and MD? You still need paper.
I can't stand these morons who think the government is tracking them so they feel the need to shun new, convenient technologies (SmarTrip and EZPass) resulting in more of my time being wasted.
Who really cares if someone finds out you are taking the Metro twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening...I wonder what sinister conclusions they will draw from this.
Add this to the list of reasons why I can't wait for fall of 2008 to arrive as soon as possible.
And I second whomever above said that they've had their card since they began being offered. Though I can imagine that there are probably some chips that can and do go bad.
Also, how are ladies' wallets different than men's wallets? Admittedly, I don't have much reference since I use a JimiX wallet which is plastic and small, so I rarely if ever have a problem.
Now if Metro would just implement SmarTrip-only aisles at all Metro stops I'd be content.
I had to replace a SmarTrip card because it had a hairline crack on the surface. It didn't go all the way through and was barely perceptible, yet it rendered the thing totally unusable. They're actually rather fragile.
My roommate's SmarTrip card stopped working when she lost it down the toilet for a few months (seriously), but other than that I think they can take a fair amount of abuse. I keep mine in an inside pocket of my purse, but it also occassionally ends up in the back pocket of my jeans and so far is none the worse for wear -- 3.5 years and counting.
Terrible idea. I have been through approximately four SmartTrip cards in the last two years. They demagnetize if placed within a foot of my security cards from work.
And the problem is not with offering this as an option, it's with requiring a registered SmartTrip card and/or a chip in your license in order to use the metro. Essentially, you go from having a choice to being trackable.
Also? Our government has proven over and again that they do use all the resources available to them, legal or illegal, to monitor citizens. And the conclusions that they have drawn from that monitoring have not always been logical or even sane.
"Who really cares if someone finds out you are taking the Metro twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening...I wonder what sinister conclusions they will draw from this."
And moreover, what information would a smarttrip capture that a police tail couldn't do already?
People talk about the right privacy all the time, but frequently what they're really envisioning is a right to anonymity, which does not exist.
I used to keep mine in the outside most zippered compartment of my wallet. I keep my wallet in my back pocket. I think it takes a beating in there. I've recently moved it to the interior of my wallet near my CCs so hopefully it will hold up a little better.
Geeze people. If you don't want to be tracked, then don't put any money on your license/SmarTrip. Get a regular SmarTrip and don't register it.
That would be information on thousands of people, most of whom are not suspected of any crime, vs. one suspect with a police tail.
Regarding SmartTrip Invincibility- I've had mine for a couple years and for the past few weeks it has worked about 50% of the time.
Negative- on the metro I have to waste time with the station manager (usually they just slam it against the target 10 or 15 times until it works).
Positive- on the bus after a couple unsuccessful swipes the driver usually just tells me to keep moving. Dolla dolla bills y'all.
i say this is a great idea. the SmartTrip cards are sorta bulky anyhow...this doesn't really scare me too much, any more than just having a license or registering a smarttrip card already does, which is not much.
I've had to replace my SmarTrip card that I've always kept in my wallet three times in 4 or 5 years. Probably not the best idea in my opinion.
I've had mine since the summer of 2001, and it is still ticking. However, whenever my flexcard was in my wallet, the ST would not work (my Zipcard never did that....strange)
aq - That could be a security risk. Increasing the range of the card would mean that someone snooping would not have to get as close to you to poll your card. I don't know all the details of SmarTrip implementation, so this may not be a real-world concern.
Privacy, at this level, is already nothing more than nostalgia. If you really, really want a guarantee of privacy, then you better cut up those credit cards, for starters. Tracking your movement by where you buy stuff tells a lot more than some stupid metro rides.
I welcome the convenience. I've long given up on the idea of consumer-level privacy: I use a cell phone, I use credit cards, I have a Smart Tag on my car, I have a smart trip card. There are alternatives to all these -- cash, toll booth, 7-11 cell phone or rare pay phone, and so on. But what a freaking hassle!
The whole privacy thing at this level is a bit of a joke: any time someone wants to conceal some aspect of their life, they can simply use the non-wired alternative mentioned above. As if I give a crap that the government knows where I bought a cup of coffee this morning.
I do like the ability to lend my smart-trip card, though, that's the only downside I see. I'd much rather have my credit cards wired to my driver's license.
I said it before but you live in bloody Washington, D.C. and if the big bad "they" that you speak of want to gather information on you, they don't need to rely on SmarTrip cards...sheesh....
For the love of pete people...It amazes me how important everyone thinks they are that they are bothered the government might be monitoring them...
And if you read the Examiner article, nothing requires you to use it...it will simply be there and if you want to use it, you can.
not a good idea as the chips are not reliable enough. Imagine having to get a new license every time it gets de-magnetized. Not fun. Is there a real problem with carrying one extra card? I don't even have a wallet and the extra card in the pocket has no effect. Having to hit the DMV more than once every 10 years would have a huge effect on me.
what about SmartTrip, Drivers license, & EZPass?
bleet bleet bleet
Add me to the pile of people who have had the smarttrip card since they used to give you the extra $2 on a $20 fill-up and have never had a problem with it. I keep it stowed away in my wallet next to various other RFID cards, for what that's worth.
And why would you have to go to the DMV to get a new license? They send those out.
Amyable, they're not magnetic - so they're not demagnetizing, guaranteed. Wiki up some RFID - you're more likely just physically breaking the chip.
As for SmarTrip card fragility, I remember a post in MetroBlogging (I think) by a guy who soaked his SmarTrip card in something like acetone, which enabled him to remove the electronics (a small wire antenna and a small chip, if I remember correctly) from the plastic card, and use the naked electronics to ride the Metro.
Correction: Some guy named Tom Lee, right here on DCist.
http://dcist.com/2005/12/14/dissecting_the_.php
And who says you would have to get a new license if the card breaks...why not just get a new card?
There must be something different between the wallets. My card works from inside my husband's wallet, no matter where he puts it but it will not work in mine.
Thanks Polti-- "range" was the word I was looking for earlier. I need more range, I don't care about security. Heh.
My only problem with this would be my distressing tendancy to lose my SmartTrip card on the Metro because I am trying to carry it in a "convenient" (er, easy to fall out of) place like my back pocket instead of my wallet. Getting a new driver's license is harder than getting a new SmartTrip.
Plans also underway to incorporate them into the University ID cards here at Georgetown:
http://www.thehoya.com/news/110207/news5.cfm
Kudos to the Fenty administration for pushing DC ID's technology past VAs and MDs. Impressive.
To the wingnuts who are afraid to let DC gov't put a chip on our IDs? Are you kidding me? Maybe once DC gets the temperature right in my daughter's school or can give an accurate count of the kids in DCPS I'll start worrying about Fenty monitoring my metro rides.
I can't wait to get my new ID. BTW I have had the same SmartTrip card since 2001 and it still works great.
I say screw the integration with your license or your credit card. How about working on getting us a flat monthly rate instead of these crazy charges they have now! Priorities are missing.
anyone know when they stop ticketing for street cleaning?
Why are we still bothering with card-based IDs and transactions? Isn't it about time we had this info embedded in RFID tags in our hands and forehead? At the very least, I should be able to carry vital medical and financial information in my Bluetooth cock ring. Much more secure down there than fumbling with a fragile card in a wallet, and it makes going through the turnstiles a much more entertaining affair. Much less painful than those tasteless Mark of the Beast tattoos as well. Although, Smartpass technology will definitely take the fun out of waving my junk at the tollbooth attendants on Dulles Access Road.