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Comment by deathanatos | Hacker News Reader

So, I looked up a video to see what it looked like, and hit on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KExZw3hh1Ic

This is of course cut to only show failures. But, e.g., in Boston, the MBTA uses RFID cards. One big benefit is that I don't have to take the card out of my wallet: I only need to pull the wallet out of my pocket, and tap the entire thing against the sensor — it can read the card through the wallet.

I'd wager it's easier than that swipe. Probably lasts longer, as there isn't any physical contact.

(Now, the MBTA also still has a paper-card variant, and that isn't RFID: you have to feed the card through the machine. Tourists might encounter that, but the locals use RFID cards.)

Similarly, Caltrain in the Bay Area uses similar cards. (Not quite as nice, though, to reload…)

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Right, I mean fundamentally from a system operators standpoint is about return on investment.

It's not like MTA decided to go with swipe at the same time that everyone else decided to go with contact list. MTA started using swipe cards in 1993 - contact-less cards didn't start reaching widespread use until the 2000s. The costs of switching systems twice in like 10-15 years would have been probably not the best.

In a lot of ways, MTA sticking with swipe (till now) is a lot like the story of NYC in the 20th century. Through NYC scale, it runs into a lot of situations first, and goes with some solution that ends up being totally what no one else decides on using when they reach NYC scale (either due to lessons learned from NYC, or just improvements in technology or knowledge).

Another benefit of RFID and modern readers is integration with phones. I think Portland, OR is one of the few cities in the US with good support for this.

- Your phone (or watch) can act as an RFID transit card, even when it’s out of battery. (Using apple’s transit card program)

- Any terminal can accept mobile wallets

Maybe as a permanent resident, the difference isn’t quite as big compared to typical RFID cards — just one less thing to carry. But when someone visits, it’s so convenient to not have to acquire a transit card and load it up, or buy tickets, or download an app, or acquire cash or coins. Most other cities (in the US), it’s a whole ordeal to figure out exactly how to pay for the transit system, where to buy the cards, it’s different everywhere, etc. But in Portland, all you need to know is that the terminals accept Apple Pay in any bus or train, and you’re good to go. It’s fantastic! I wish other cities would adopt these sorts of terminals. It makes public transit much more appealing especially as a visitor.

> I think Portland, OR is one of the few cities in the US with good support for this.

Agree with all of your following points but I just wanted to mention that every MTA subway station in NYC now supports digital wallet tap-to-pay as well as the buses.

Unlimitted monthly or weekly passes still need a magnetic-strip metrocard but I canceled my unlimited plan in April 2020 when I stopped commuting, I haven't gotten my Metrocard out of my wallet in several months now.

SF BART and other agencies using the Clipper system recently (within the last few weeks) rolled out mobile device support for iOS and Android. I was able to put my Clipper card into my iPhone by just tapping the phone on my card.

LA metro rolled out the apple transit program for its TAP cards as well. the only weirdness about it is that transferring your card to the apple wallet renders your plastic chip card basically useless rather than remaining as a backup.

The SF Bay area got Apple Wallet support last week, too. I didn't want my physical card invalidated, so I created a new, virtual one from within Apple Wallet itself.

We have Apple Express Transit in Chicago too (Ventra) and it works great. The great part is one doesn’t need to unlock the phone — because of that its arguably more convenient than a transit card.

I used Apple Express Transit with New York City’s OMNY system last weekend and it was similarly amazing. I brought my Metrocard with me just in case but never had to use it.

Melbourne, Australia, has Google Pay support for the transit system but not Apple Pay. I recently switched to iOS and the lack of phone transit support is the biggest pain so far (and I don't really even use public transport, living and working in the CBD/city/downtown, just walk through one of the stations quite often on the way to and from the office).

I'm also willing to wager they found a malfunctioning stripe reader for that video.

It does seem to be the same readers every time.

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