One-Step Contactless Card Transactions Key to Catching the Train on Time! 24. May 2016

Cale America Inc., a leading supplier of payment technology for parking and transportation, has announced its first US installation of MIFARE® contactless cards paired with license plate based payments in the City of Aurora, IL. Installed and supported by Cale’s distribution partner, Total Parking Solutions, Inc., the new system allows Metra commuters to simply tap their Aurora MIFARE IC based card and instantly pay for parking as they head to the train. The payment and parking session are linked to the vehicle license plate number which is stored on the contactless card based on MIFARE IC.

Joe Hopp, Superintendent of Maintenance Services for the City of Aurora explained that commuters love the convenience. “We have had almost 50,000 MIFARE product-based card transactions since the program began in October last year. Adoption of the contactless cards has grown at a rapid pace,” said Joe. “Customers are now able to reload the cards easily at any pay station, and we expect many more commuters will prefer the convenience of tapping their card and getting on the train.”

Stored vehicle plate information on the MIFARE IC card eliminates customer input errors greatly speeds up the transaction process. These benefits are important to customers in a hurry, especially when the weather is bad. There are also savings to the city in cost of operation. “Using contactless technology means quicker interaction with the parking meter and eliminating user error in entering the plate information.” explained Andreas Jansson, President of Cale America Inc. “Since there is no need to insert the MIFARE IC-based card into a slot or manually enter a plate number, the technology works great in snowy or sunny conditions and there is less equipment to service or clean.

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