San Francisco launches m-wallet commuter trial

San Francisco's BART public rapid-transit system launched a new mobile wallet trial program enabling riders to charge fares by swiping Sprint handsets enabled with NFC smartchips over station fare gate sensors. Some 230 BART commuters are participating in the trial, exchanging their existing mobile handsets for the Sprint trial phones. Each fare is deducted automatically from an account linked to the commuter's credit card, with trial participants given phones pre-loaded with $48 in prepaid BART fares. When the account value drops below $10, the commuter's credit card is charged $45, and $48 in fare value is added over-the-air. During the course of the trial, riders may also use their phones to purchase meals from fast-food chain Jack in the Box.

"Sprint is looking forward to evaluating the results from the preliminary trial of this new technology. It has the potential to allow trial participants to quickly manage their daily commute and make payments using the one device they carry with them throughout the day," said Sprint vice president of strategic partners and innovation Thad Langford in a prepared statement. "For trial users, this capability could complement the many other phone applications that Sprint offers, including music, video, navigation, walkie-talkie and more, that make customers' lives more productive and enjoyable."

For more on the BART trial:
- read this release

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