ORCA privacy options

[mbrubeck]

I just got an ORCA card, the new stored-value card for our local transit agencies. Now instead of getting a new card each month, I can just go online to renew my ORCA pass. I can also check the current status and transaction history online, and set up a monthly auto-payment plan. But that also means that there's an electronic record of all my

Comments

[triath]

That is pretty cool.

In Taiwan I saw an art exhibit where you could scan your Japanese* subway card and the program would analyze your trips. The Japanese cards use RFID and log every trip, not just the last N like the Taiwanese cards. Then the art exhibit would display pictures of where you've been while telling you creepy things. "I see you live at X stop, and work at Y stop. You visit Z stop on Saturdays, isn't the farmer's market there great?" Totally creepy.

* Yes, Japanese. It was an international art exhibit and they had sample cards that you could use for the art.

[camlost]

This is pretty much the same as the oyster cards in London.

Of course, if you "top up" with a credit card, they can associate the accounts that way. And even if you use coins, they can problem at least get a picture by correlating the data in the CCTV with the RFID logs (given enough trips).

[dclayh]

I feel the same way: as a matter of principle I vigorously support privacy rights, but personally I don't really feel like I have anything to hide (well, modulo a certain few online activities).

[miyabo]

In Minneapolis we have a similar system. The transit agency does not publicize the fact that you can get an unregistered card, but they are available if you buy your card from any convenience store and just never register it