By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • nfcworld.com • Published 5 May 2015, 14:09 • Last updated 5 May 2015, 14:09
SCHOOL TIME: A child using a KanGo! NFC identity card to check in after bus ride to school
Six schools in Barcelona are issuing contactless cards to students who use public transport so that parents can track them on their journey to school and be notified when their child has arrived safely. Assistants with NFC phones monitor the childrens’ progress as they get on and off buses.
The KanGo! project has been developed by Spanish startup Aditium in partnership with public transport operator Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, transport management foundation Fundación Abertis, Telefonica and the Catalan Society for Down Syndrome (Fundació Catalana Síndrome de Down) in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi school district of the city.
“Each student is given a KanGo! NFC ID card and attendants from the Catalan Society for Down Syndrome wait for the children to arrive at designated KanGo! bus stops,” Aditium CEO Eneko Arza told NFC World. “Using an application on a smartphone, they scan the child’s NFC card upon arrival.
“The app then communicates, in real-time, to our server and sends confirmation to parents when their kids get off the bus and when they check into school. The parents receive an alert via email or SMS automatically and immediately; it works in real-time.”
A video shows a demonstration of the KanGo! service, with commentary in Spanish:
The goal of the project is to offer an “economic and safe alternative” for children aged between eight and 13 to get to school in a busy district that has the highest concentration of schools in the city with more than 40,000 students, Azra explained.
“We’ve had lots of positive feedback and interest so far, parents who normally drive their kids to school and even parents whose kids walk to school are interested,” Azra said. “It’s a great way to get young people to learn how to take the bus at an early age.
“As the solution provider, we are currently gathering data and KPIs to show that participants are taking advantage of the program. In July, the results of the pilot will be reviewed to determine further roll-outs.”