Opinions on RFID?

[BigAirSkier1580]

Skiing Jay the other day made me think about RFID and when we will see it at Killington. My experience with it was on a very dead midweek day, and the system was extremely convenient and worked flawlessly. I'm sure the scanners are a pretty big investment, but the system has some very distinct benefits...

-Added convenience for skiers/riders who no longer need to get their pass scanned every single lift ride
-Reduced labor expenses as a single machine at every lift does the job of multiple ticket checkers
-Makes poaching lifts VERY difficult

Wonder how long it is before we see K adopt them and I'd be curious to know how quick of a ROI they would be.

[G-smashed]

I saw this at Alpine Meadows last year and I don't see any down side to it. You just ski through a turnstile as you enter the lift maze and you're in. There are no delays as incontinent (Doh! I mean incompetent) lifties hold up the lines scanning tickets like at some areas we know.

[Geoff]

Is Killington going to give us RFID implants?

From the point of view of the resort, the only down side is possible theft of service from people using other people's season passes. Today, somebody has to physically scan the pass many times every day and most people won't take the risk of having somebody use their pass. With RFID, chances are pretty good that nobody will ever look on the pass.

[shortski]

Random spot checks, anyone caught gets prosecuted to the full extent of the theft of services law, which is a felony, and the pass is voided. How many would be willing to go to jail for five years, and who would be stupid enough to let someone use thier pass with the chance they'ed lose it.

[G-smashed]

Random spot checks, anyone caught gets prosecuted to the full extent of the theft of services law, which is a felony, and the pass is voided. How many would be willing to go to jail for five years, and who would be stupid enough to let someone use thier pass with the chance they'd lose it.

I heard Telly shares his pass all the time.

[umby]

Steven's Pass out in Washington uses RFID and it was great when I was there for a sick powder day last April. Just ski up with the pass in your pocket, the machine senses it and right through to the lift. It was a midweek day and the place was empty despite the 2ft of freshness... so no idea how well it works with a crowd. I must say it was nice to not have to worry about losing your pass by getting it snagged by a branch in the trees.

[rogman]

They have RFID at Mt Bachelor, so POWDR is obviously familiar with the pluses and minuses. Alta has them, very convenient. They still had a guy there, but he focused on organizing the line, so that the lifts were efficiently used. I'm sure he spot checked as well, but I had a day pass. He seemed pretty relaxed, unlike the ticket checkers here which have to focus on keeping people scanned and moving. A much more pleasant experience.

The problem with Killington is there are so many entrance points, equipping all of them would be expensive. However they would help a lot at the lifts that see peak use and require multiple checkers: K1 and SPE specifically.

[Nevada West]

Random spot checks, anyone caught gets prosecuted to the full extent of the theft of services law, which is a felony, and the pass is voided. How many would be willing to go to jail for five years, and who would be stupid enough to let someone use thier pass with the chance they'd lose it.

I heard Telly shares his pass all the time.

Rick didn't get 5 years for possession of kiddie porn. 5 in the clink for theft of services is a joke.

[Nikoli]

The readers are way cheaper than similar bar code scanning equipment. I have 2 sitting on my desk they cost a total of $115. Most handheld equipment can be upgraded. I think Killington uses the Mot 9090 this device can be upgraded to include near field proximity cards with relative ease. Most expensive part of the equation is transitioning the back end software.

[Clutch]

I would be happy if they just put larger barcodes on the passes so they would actually scan.

[ME2VTSkier]

And with proximity sensors strategically located, they could be tracking location data no one ever thought of. Just think of the out of bounds sensors that could be employed, They would then know who was where, when, for how long... shops, bars, bathrooms, restaurants... Coupled with Face Recognition Software, to see if the right person is carrying the pass...(yeah, I know, good luck with that in the lift lines right? Helmets, goggles, masks...) It's kind of neat, and kind of scary at the same time, how far technology can take things.

For instance, I have a US Passport and Passport Card, which both utilize RFID technology. They know who I am, whatever information they have on me, and what I should look like, long before I reach the actual Port of Entry....

[BoozeTan]

I would be happy if they just put larger barcodes on the passes so they would actually scan.

and hopefully that would help them read through the plastic pass pockets that outerwear has.

[Nikoli]

I would be happy if they just put larger barcodes on the passes so they would actually scan.

and hopefully that would help them read through the plastic pass pockets that outerwear has.

I think most of the issues you see when trying to read the bar code are due to environmental factors. That bar code is a 1d and those are child's play for most decoding software these days. Imagers (bar code readers) have difficulty reading in either low light or high light situations. Also, the lens needs to be clean and the correct distance and angle has to be achieved for a good read. This is why rfid is just a better all around technology for this application. The only down side is buying the rfid tags. Printing 1d bar codes costs nothing.

BTW: Placing the pass inside a clear plastic shield will only make matters worse.

[Nikoli]

And with proximity sensors strategically located, they could be tracking location data no one ever thought of. Just think of the out of bounds sensors that could be employed, They would then know who was where, when, for how long... shops, bars, bathrooms, restaurants... Coupled with Face Recognition Software, to see if the right person is carrying the pass...(yeah, I know, good luck with that in the lift lines right? Helmets, goggles, masks...) It's kind of neat, and kind of scary at the same time, how far technology can take things.

For instance, I have a US Passport and Passport Card, which both utilize RFID technology. They know who I am, whatever information they have on me, and what I should look like, long before I reach the actual Port of Entry....

All you need a RFID blocking sleeve and you will go off the grid. If you have easy pass you already have one.

[Mister Moose]

BTW: Placing the pass inside a clear plastic shield will only make matters worse.

That seems to be true, for the most part it seems my pass pocket takes longer to scan. However, once on a slow day I was skiing into the maze, pass already out to scan (still in the shield) and the liftie pointed the scanner from at least 15 feet away and it read it as I was coming forward at maybe 10mph. I was impressed.

And while mostly the shield can be quirky getting a read, the security of not losing it is bulletproof. As long as they charge $30 to replace a pass, I'm not hanging it out on a lanyard/clip/retracto-extension cord.