Buses to scan Pitt IDs

Pitt students will soon be able to use the technology embedded in their Pitt IDs to board Port… Pitt students will soon be able to use the technology embedded in their Pitt IDs to board Port Authority buses — pending results from a month-long trial that began Monday.

The trial is the final stage of development for the new fare-collection equipment. Three hundred Pitt students and faculty who received an email asking for volunteers are participating in the pilot program. Although students from neighboring school Carnegie Mellon also use their university IDs as bus passes, Pitt is the only organization involved in the Port Authority study.

Instead of simply flashing the IDs, participants in the new system’s trial will tap their cards against a bar code reader when they board the bus.

The machine will make a single beeping sound if a card is accepted and will beep three times if the card is invalid.

Jim Ritchie, public relations director for Port Authority, said results from the trial are still inconclusive. He is waiting on feedback from the participants and bus drivers.

The projected date for the program to go into effect for all Pitt students and faculty is Aug. 1.