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FARE COLLECTION NOVEMBER 2014 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 25 secure and back up that security with consumers with no liability to them if there's a breach or the card is stolen or used without their ap- proval," Vanderhoof said. "So real- ly it's an enhancement of security for consumers because it follows industry standards for payments, more so than for the closed loop proprietary ones." Open fare payment technology continues to evolve, Vanderhoof said. One area being looked at is having the fare calculation and management of the customers' pay- ments being handled in the back end of the system rather than at the card or the turnstile. By having information stored in the cloud, it allows for multiple ways to use a fare system and a more efcient way of collecting fare payment. In Washington, D.C., Van- derhoof said the large amount of federal employees riding Metro have government ID cards using compatible technology, which means they could be used as a form of fare payment media. "People have really been interest- ed in this concept," Vanderhoof said. Boehm said MCTS will con- tinue to roll out the new M•Card system to riders, install ticket vending machines and work to educate the community about the change and how it will ben- eft them. Agency staf has done public outreach events about the change and ofer a dedicated phone line to help customers with questions about the switch. And while the M • Card is just getting rolled out in Milwaukee, MCTS could see it develop into a powerful tool in attracting new riders and enhancing the rider experience. "We've certainly heard a lot about the rollout of smart card- based systems and they always tend to be very positive for a transit system, so we're expecting that type of effect," Boehm said. "Those other transit agencies give you percentages on how it impacted their system, but we're going to wait and see what this means for us." The 2015 International Rail Safety Seminar & Expo returns to Orlando, Florida this spring. Since 2012, this educational rail safety event has attracted over 500 attendees from more than 20 countries and pre- sented more than 100 international speakers. A broad range of topics are planned including: • Safety and Risk Assessment • Accident Prevention & Analysis • Detection and Warning Systems • Security Technology and Practices • Train Control Systems & Methods • Derailment Prevention • Vehicle and Track Interaction • New Technologies and More Attendee, Presenter & Exhibitor Information at: www.RailSafetySeminars.com The 2015 Bus Safety Seminar & Expo is a brand new educational seminar and expo dedicated to the criti- cal area of Bus Safety. Modeled after the successful rail safety event, Bus Safety 2015 will cover a wide range of related safety and security topics. Visit www.BusSafetySeminars.com for details on attending, presenting or exhibiting at this new educational event. For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/12015849 Consumers have a lot of protection when it comes to security when using bank cards. More protection than they may have in the fare media provided by most transit agencies, so first of all, the payment systems do a really good job of making payment technology secure and back up that security with consumers with no liability to them if there's a breach or the card is stolen or used without their approval.