Multi-use smartcard for London

London will be the first European city to have a single smartcard for accessing multiple services.

Talks between local authority group London Connects and the mayor's Transport for London (TfL) initiative could see basic government services added to the ticketing smartcard, due to be trialled later this year ahead of wider use in 2003(Computing, 9 May).The first additions would be low-security services such as libraries and leisure facilities or a top-up card for parking payments, says London Connects strategic consultant Mick Davies.

'TfL should have a card for the general public at the end of 2003 and we are trying to get two or three small applications onto that,' he said.

London Connects is working with public sector organisations across the capital so any applications can be added to any card, regardless of who issued the card or what type of hardware it is.

Future developments are likely to include schools-based applications such as points-based incentive schemes to reduce truancy as well as more complex, high-security uses like benefits payments.

The scheme will build on existing work in local authorities.

'A number of pilots are already underway - the idea is that we can get one or more councils interested in developing, say, a parking application, and then make it available to all the others,' said Davies.

London Connects is awaiting funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to create a formal business case. It will be bidding for around £6m of European funding, to be added to money from central government and local authorities.