Travel cards to monitor our travel activity
By Darren Cronian on Sunday, May 4th, 2008

Apparently, the government are looking at introducing travel cards on every train, bus and coach network so when I travel to Edinburgh I would swipe my travel card, this would show my travel activity and help MI5 and other security departments monitor mine and other residents travel movements.

Travel cards to monitor our travel activity

It’s bad enough that we have CCTV every where we walk, and the over the top security at airports. I know that we have to be security conscious in an age where terrorists have the UK high on their most wanted list, but there’s taking it over the top and I think this is.

I was surprised to learn that in London, the Oyster swipe card, covering the Underground and buses, already records the details of around 17 million travellers automatically. Similar travel systems are planned across Britain, including Leeds and Edinburgh, within five years.

Anyone else think that this is outrageous?


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9 responses to “Travel cards to monitor our travel activity”

Gary | 5 May, 2008 at 2:12 am

As bad as I think things get in the US, in many ways I think the UK has it worse.

I think someone in the government found a copy of 1984 and thought it was a handbook.

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Darren Cronian | 5 May, 2008 at 10:11 am

@ Gary

It’s crazy, I wonder how many of those 17million travellers using the Oyster card in London realise that they are being tracked by their every move.

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jono | 5 May, 2008 at 10:25 am

Very much so. Using terrorism as an excuse is a joke. These types of systems are easy enough for those who are committed to get around, but tight enough to take away the freedom of the the (harmless) masses.

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Darren Cronian | 7 May, 2008 at 12:45 pm

@ Jono

Good point, thanks for commenting.

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Mary Goudie | 7 May, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Why don’t they just go all the way and make us have little ID chips in our arms.

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Darren Cronian | 7 May, 2008 at 5:35 pm

@ Mary

Hahah – don’t give them any ideas! ;)

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Rohan | 11 May, 2008 at 11:55 am

This is outragious but it does not surprise me neither. I think Newcastle are going to be operating a similar system to London, but I doubt that us Geordies will be as stupid as the Londoners and jump at the system.

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Darren Cronian | 11 May, 2008 at 12:05 pm

@ Rohan

I don’t think Leeds will be far away from an electrical system but to be honest they need to put their money into improving the services rather than wasting it on traveller tagging systems.

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Jay Houston | 28 February, 2009 at 8:00 am

Cash defeats many of these tracking systems. In the U.S. the Bush government used credit card usage, obtained with the full co-operation of the banks, to analyse credit card holder activities.

I travel frequently to dubious (at least to major Western countries) destinations and luckily, legally, possess 3 passports. I happily book travel out of / in to such ‘free’ countries to distant major hubs, uing one passport, then I purchase onward travel from the airlines directly using another passport, most of which avoid using the CRS/GDS because of the usurious charges imposed, thereby circumventing a major information resource used by these governments.

Fortunately two of the governments, who issued my passports, have quite good citizen data access and I check regularly to learn what they now record. Anyone analysing these records will be hard put to build a complete, accurate picture of my travel activities.

Nick Gleeson, the former derivatives trader late of Singapore, and CHOY, Hon-Tim, the former Singapore PUB official convicted of bribery, will likely both advise people wanting to cross borders to avoid airlines and use buses or trains!

Remember: Garbage in – Gospel out.

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