FUNCTIONAL EVALUATION OF THE LOS ANGELES SMART CARD FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST

This paper summarizes the functional evaluation of an Advanced Fare Payment System deployed in Los Angeles in the summer of 1994. The functional evaluation is part of a larger Field Operational Test evaluation managed by the Partnership for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The demonstration project fielded two types of advanced fare cards incorporating very different technologies on three separate transit properties as part of a relatively low cost system constructed from components manufactured to commercial rather than industrial specifications. Overall, the system performed well. Radio Frequency (RF) Cards demonstrated extremely high reliability. Smart Cards performed less well than the RF Cards, but both systems greatly surpassed the standards for magnetic stripe cards