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The Dublin Railway Procurement Agency has selected IBM to create and install the infrastructure for a new public transport ticketing system in the greater Dublin area. Commuters would use a contactless prepaid card for travel on buses, trains, trams and coaches in Dublin, IBM says in a statement. Work on the project begins immediately, and the system will begin carrying passengers in late 2009. The ticketing system will be similar to the Oyster Card used for the London Underground, an IBM spokesperson tells CardLine Global. "But the card is leveraging more-advanced technology," the spokesperson says. IBM says the technology "enables the future option of micro-retail payments such as buying a loaf of bread at the local store with your travel card." IBM says Ireland plans to invest 34 billion euros (US$50 billion) until 2015 to improve the country's public transit system.
