American University plans to expand a project to link plastic ID cards with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s smartcard-based fare collection system.
In March, American University in Washington, D.C. announced a plan to distribute plastic ID cards linked to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for a small number of students to test a new system that the school will implement in the fall. According to the Hatchet, the school newspaper at George Washington University, American distributed more cards to students on April 12 to test its system further.
The university also increased the experiment to gather data relating to the frequency of students’ Metro use.
"These cards will include a magnetic strip on the first side that holds the university application data. The students, faculty and staff of the university will be using the cards over the next four weeks or so, allowing them to get the data regarding the frequency of the transit use and average fare use," Metro spokeswoman Taryn McNeil told the news provider.
The University of Cincinnati recently announced a similar program that provided students with plastic university ID cards to be used for the city’s public transportation. The program yielded mixed results; students enjoy using the services but have complained about the need to carry a separate ID card to do so.
