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Train riders in France are testing a service through which they can add value to their transit passes with card readers connected to their home personal computers, a spokesperson for Xiring, the France-based company that supplied the readers, tells CardLine Global. The pilot involves trains that operate under the Transilien SNCF brand and serve the Paris region. The test involves 1,000 commuters and is scheduled to last into fall, at which point Xiring expects the train operator to confirm a rollout of the technology, the spokesperson says. Riders with weekly or monthly Navigo passes can add value with the Teo smart card readers. Officials hope use of the devices can help reduce lines at ticket desks and vending machines. SNCF is providing the readers to consumers for free, Xiring says. Last week, Gemalto NV, a French contactless-technology vendor, said it was supplying readers for transit card top-ups for commuters who ride Paris buses and subways operated by Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, or RATP (CardLine Global, 16 Sept.). Unlike the SNCF pilot, RATP consumers must buy their readers, though Gemalto did not disclose the price. Comment from RATP was unavailable. Xiring is involved in similar pilots with Transport Express Regional SNCF, an express railway service in France, and Compagnie des Transport Strasbourgeois, a public transport company based in Strasbourg, the spokesperson says.
