A brave new world
A brave new world is upon us. As of yesterday, I climbed on board the latest, greatest innovation in the local world of mass transit, and from now on I am a cipher. Not to worry; numbers are the bane of our existence, but the ability of the local authorities to better control their meagre budget has to be in our favour.
Back in the summer of 1984, almost a full quarter century ago, I came within range of urban transit and I loved the idea. I didn’t have to buy into the automobile world to get around the city. Instead, for a monthly payment I could “ride the bus” any time it came along and happened to be headed in the same direction as me. I reported to the local control centre, had my face immortalized and purchased the pass. For around $19, I was as mobile as any one else.
The price changed over the years, but not my face; I remained #575946 without ever knowing who held the numbers around me. After all, this was not an important figure. It served only to assure that my expensive piece of cardboard could not be handed along to a friend, or neighbour, or perfect stranger. My transit fee was to carry me and me alone, upon penalty of confiscation and fines according to the bylaw.
The price is now up to $71.55 with small improvements in service. I know how to get from home to work and back again in a number of permutations, which satisfies my soul. And, as of yesterday, I am again a faceless entity. The city, in concert with some other, larger municipalities has changed to an electronic fare card, rechargeable and portable. On or before the first of each calendar month, I will continue to pay my transit tax, and in return I can loan the magic piece of plastic to others. I didn’t even have to surrender my photo identity card, because there was a tariff for keeping what I already owned. Ingenious!
One small squeak in the symphony of movement; the cards can be tracked, and the serial number (which will be registered in my name to prevent loss) can also be used to build a user profile, should the city wish to do so. Someone wants to create a report showing what users from a particular sector take the 7 a.m. bus and return at 5 p.m. with the occasional quick trip at lunchtime… SQL query and hit print. The computers will “know everything”. A bit more money (OK, a lot more money) and we could even have realtime analysis, on wallsize screens. Or someone could just stand near my house and watch, but that isn’t as technically interesting.
I’m happy to join the OPUS gang. I guess.
