The Fastrak system used for toll collections in San Francisco and other areas has found another use - monitoring traffic flow on freeways by tracking suckers\\\\\\\customers' cars when they're *not* in tollbooths. The system managers purport that they'll protect privacy by destroying any individually identifiable data after a day, and also keeping personal identification information separate from encrypted transponder IDs, but fundamentally, if they information's there, it's accessible and usable. -----Original Message----- From: Dave Farber [mailto:dave@farber.net] Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 5:33 PM To: ip Subject: IP: SF Bay area to begin massive tracking of FasTrak commuters [ or if it is available , we will use or abuse it djf] http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-tracking-drivers0808aug0... http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-tracking-drivers0808aug0... Traffic System Causes Privacy Outcry By KAREN GAUDETTE Associated Press Writer August 8, 2002, 6:36 PM EDT OAKLAND, Calif. -- In about a month, traffic sensors being installed along San Francisco Bay area highways will be able to track a quarter million drivers along their commutes. Proponents say the $37 million enhancement to the region's electronic toll system will be a boon to commuters, providing motorists real-time information about some of the nation's worst road congestion via cell phone, radio or Internet. Traffic planners will be able to gather crucial data on problem areas. But despite government assurances, the new program is also raising fears that drivers' privacy will be invaded. Similar to systems in Houston and the New York region, the Bay area's FasTrak program already eases waits at toll plazas by enabling motorists to pay with electronic devices velcroed to the windshields of vehicles. Now, radio-based sensors mounted on highway signs every few miles will augment the devices' usefulness. To the dismay of some FasTrak users, monitoring is not optional. The only way to avoid triggering the sensors throughout nine Bay Area counties is to stash the transponder in its accompanying Mylar bag. Project leaders at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission say they're not interested in the movements of individual drivers, and have gone to great lengths to protect privacy, including encrypting the serial number of each transponder as its location is transmitted. Authorities promise to keep this data separate from the identities of FasTrak users and other information needed to make automatic monthly deductions from their bank or credit card accounts. "We're not tracking or trying to follow any individual car, just the overall traffic flow," TravInfo project manager Michael Berman said. But some drivers say having a more detailed traffic report isn't worth the sense that someone's watching. "I personally am a little creeped out by it," said interior designer Heidi Hirvonen-White, who crosses the Golden Gate Bridge commuting between Tiburon and San Francisco. "In today's society it seems like any sort of code or whatnot can be broken." Those in the automotive telematics industry say the Bay Area's "TravInfo" project is only the latest example of the growing phenomenon of remote monitoring. Many rental fleets and trucking companies already use satellite positioning systems to track cars and cargo. Companies promote similar products for keeping tabs on kids, Alzheimer's patients or cheating spouses. Washington is also promoting locator technology. By October, the Federal Communications Commission wants cell phones equipped with locator technology to help emergency responders find callers. That requirement will also enable authorities to track users, even calculating road speeds, said Ray Grefe, vice president of business development for telematics software company Televoke. "I think there are going to be some nasty court battles that come out of all of this stuff," Grefe said. Transponder data has already been used in court. In 1997, E-ZPass records helped show what kidnappers did to New Jersey restaurant millionaire Nelson Gross, whose BMW crossed the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan, where his beaten corpse was found. Another case involved a Connecticut rental car company that charged customers $150 each time a GPS receiver showed they were speeding. The company has since stopped the practice. Berman emphasized that the Bay Area system won't be used to track kidnappers or car thieves who happen to have FasTrak in their cars, let alone adulterers. The MTC -- along with its partners, the California Highway Patrol and the state transportation department -- has received no requests from law enforcement to tweak the system so drivers could be pursued, Berman said, adding, "I think if they were to request it, we would say no. That's not our job." But privacy advocates say that once the sensors are in place, there's nothing to prevent such a change. New laws imposed after Sept. 11 make it much easier for police to obtain such information. "Yes, they're building in limitations on the data use, but there's nothing to prevent them from changing the policies in the future," said Beth Givens, director of the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Each of the California system's sensors has two antennas. One continually sends out a radio pulse that "wakes up" when it hits a passing FasTrak transponder. The other antenna notes the transponder's serial number, and transmits it, using encryption, via cellular modem to the MTC's Travel Information Center in Oakland. Transponders beep as cars pass through toll plazas, but remain silent when they pass the sensors. All record of serials numbers stored in electronic files will be destroyed daily, leaving only general averages and patterns for later study, Berman said. In Texas, 1.5 million commuters use a similar traffic information service, said Artee Jones, spokesman for Houston TranStar, which incorporates similar privacy measures. While some FasTrak users remain troubled, few said they'd give up the shorter toll booth lines or discounts to avoid participating. Michael Pieri of Richmond said he has nothing to hide, but he'll still stash the transponder away between tolls. "That's fine if you volunteer for that," he said. "But involuntarily, I don't think it's a good thing at all." * __ On the Net: Metropolitan Transportation Commission: http://www.mtc.ca.gov TravInfo program: http://www.travinfo.org http://www.televoke.com Copyright ) 2002, The Associated Press For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/