Universal Transit Fare System Task Force 

Thomas Parker, chair

Martin Schroeder, P.E.
APTA Staff Advisor
Chief Engineer, Rail Programs
202/496-4885
mschroeder@apta.com

UTFS Mission

The mission of the Task Force is to develop a series of documents that provides industry guidance for the creation of an open architecture payment environment that promotes greater access and convenience to the public transportation network and enables integration of independent payment systems.  To accomplish this mission, the Task Force membership shall be broadly representative of the transit industry specifically including transit system operators, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), manufacturers, engineering and consulting firms, transit labor organizations and others with an interest in the revenue management aspects of the transit industry.

UTFS Guiding Principles

To be an effective force, broadly representative of the transit industry, which will through a consensus process create a range of documents supportive of the following guiding principles:

• Promote economies of scale for agencies and enable more competitive procurements
• Provide a platform to support agency independence and vendor neutrality
• Strive for an open architecture environment for hardware and software utilizing commercially available products
• Foster development for a multi-modal and multi-application environment
• Provide information for informed decisions and development of partnership strategies.

By Laws (PDF)

Intellectual Property (IP) Policy & Procedures page - APTA has established policies and procedures for the conduct of the UTFS Task Force related to the treatment of intellectual property of those entities contributing to development of UTFS standards. The document containing these policies and procedures is entitled: Intellectual Property (IP) Policy and Procedures. The policy considers patents, copyrighted material, registered marks such as trademarks, and trade secrets. To participate in the development of UTFS Fare Card Standards, requires acknowledgement of understanding regarding the APTA IP Policy. To obtain necessary documents related to IP Policy and ensure compliance with these policies, please see the Bulletins (Issued as needed).

(Controlling documents for the Task Force are found under the IP Policy section of this site.)

Documents

The Task Force also produces various white papers, technical reports and other documents related to fare collection systems, technology, and implementation.

To view PowerPoint of UTFS and CFMS Overview, click here.

To view released standards click here.

To view recommended practices, reports or white papers click here.

Part I - Introduction and Overview

This standard is an introduction and overview to a contactless fare media system which provides for a consistent and uniform method for storing and retrieving information from smart cards used in transit applications.  The standard consists of five parts which are designed to be implemented together as part of a foundation for end-to-end integration of fare collection information processing.

Part II - Contactless Fare Media Data Format and Interface Standard

This standard defines the data format used on Proximity Integrated Circuit Cards (PICC).  This part provides a consistent and uniform method for storing, retrieving and updating data from contactless fare media used in transit applications.  It also references related international standards which define the physical, electrical and communications aspects of PICCs.

Part III - Regional Central System Interface Standard

This standard provides an interface to provide a uniform and consistent method of communication to a Regional Central System of a contactless fare media system for transit applications.  This standardization allows transit agencies who are purchasing or expanding their fare collection systems to participate in a regional operating environment where common Contactless Fare Media-based fare instruments can be used for fare payment with all the participating transit agencies.

Part IV - Security Planning and Implementation Guidelines and Best Practices

This guideline provides the basic steps and considerations that should be employed in order to define, implement, and manage a security program for a regional smart card-based fare collection system.

Part V

Part V is a test methods specification that provides a tool for verifying conformance with the CFMS Standards.  It contains specific information related to system and component testing and test procedures that an agency, vendor or third-party testing house can use to ensure the delivered product is compliant with CFMS requirements.