I have a lot of ideas for new inventions. Some are good, some are silly and some are designed backwards with the idea of trying to retrofit a solution to an existing "cool" technology. This idea, however, is money and one-ups a lot of RD-ID smart card solutions that already exist. I thought of this idea this morning when considering what time I need to leave work today to catch the 4:43 NJ Transit train from Penn Station to Radburn. The proposed invention combines some three concepts I've seen in practice:
1. Smart cards like the Washington DC Metro system-these cards allow you to have an online account to track your balance and add funds. Nothing new here, this is in practice in a number of cities globally.
2. Text Message bank system- a system that receives text messages and performs a business operation. GoMobo.com, a New York City based company uses this technology to allow customers to order food on the go from participating restaurants. I use this pretty often to get my morning coffee from Dunkin Donuts or lunch from Subway. I'm very intrigued by this concept and I've joined the GoMobo Advisory Council which acts as a sounding board and suggestion forum for the company since its still a relatively new concept.
3. Driver License bar code scanners-most of us have seen these in use by bouncers at bars. A few weeks ago I visited a friend in Chicago and I saw an interesting use of the bar code scanners at a gym. My friend's gym scans his license to read his identity into the check-in system. This works better than forcing everyone to carry a FOB or key chain card or something since you generally take your drivers license with you whenever you leave your home.
I think it would be great if public transportation systems can use a combination of all three concepts to provide better service. If each customer could create an online account to add funds and track balances it would be very helpful. If a customer could send a text message while running close or late to a train like "1 ticket from Penn Station to Radburn" it would be even better. The train conductors could then use a barcode reader to scan in a customer's driver license. The only thing I haven't really worked out in my head is how a customer's account can be verified and charged wirelessly from a moving train. Maybe WiMax is the answer? Maybe the train conductor can even act as a point of sale and we won't even need the text message system. Any comments?
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