SF Bay area to begin massive tracking of FasTrak commuters [ or if it is available , we will use or abuse it djf]

[Bill Stewart]

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 at 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-drivers0808aug08.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-tracking-drivers0808aug08.story 


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

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