Public Transportation Organization Uses Employee ID Cards to Improve Security

Transportation safety is of a greater concern today than ever before. Whether passengers travel by bus, airplane, or taxi, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve worried about the security of the vehicle. For transportation companies to be successful, the public needs to feel assured that the vehicles they’re riding are closely monitored and secure. Residents in metro Grand Rapids, Michigan, can rest easy knowing that the Interurban Transit Partnership has taken numerous precautions to ensure its public transportation is safe for passengers.

The Interurban Transit Partnership, known as the Rapid to locals, provides a variety of public transportation services for the Grand Rapids area and its residents. The transportation service is made possible by its 262 employees and their 207 vehicles. The Interurban Transit Partnership’s primary service to residents is the 19 fixed bus routes that 20% of residents used for transportation in 2006.

When it comes to Interurban Transit Partnership’s most important piece of equipment, you may be surprised that it isn’t a bus at all. Rather, identification plays such an important role securing people and vehicles that Sec Garcia, Facility Manager, considers it to be a vital part of the organization. 

In order to provide the safest public transportation possible, building security needs to be a top priority. “All our buildings must stay secure,” Sec explained. The Interurban Transit Partnership has proximity card readers installed on all the buildings so that an ID card is required to access the facilities.

The proximity card readers were a great addition to the safety and security at Interurban Transit Partnership, but creating employee ID cards for access proved to be a cumbersome part of the security process. Sec often found he needed employee ID cards quickly for new hires or contractors to have safe access to the building.

“We were contracting the creation of our employee ID cards to another company. I would send them the picture and a week later the ID card would arrive. The process proved to be too cumbersome and expensive for our needs,” said Sec. Sec had come to the conclusion that Interurban Transit Partnership needed the capability to make secure employee ID cards themselves.

Sec found an IDville ID card printer package with all of the security features he desired. He now uses a one-sided secure ID card printer that allows him to create employee ID cards on site. It’s also equipped with a HoloKote anti-copying watermark feature. For added security, the Holokote function can add a holographic watermark to all employee ID cards, further securing his facilities.

The Interurban Transit Partnership has special proximity cards to which Sec will add a custom designed ID card label using ID card software. “Now, we’ll be printing the picture of the employee or contractor along with our logo and the department on a label to apply directly to the proximity cards,” said Sec.

The addition of an in-house ID card printer will save Interurban Transit Partnership time and money with the new streamlined process. Instead of paying a fee per card and having a one week wait time, Sec can now have cards ready immediately for contractors and new staff.

“We just hired 30 new bus drivers who will start training in September,” said Sec. “Now I can take their picture and hand them their new ID card that day on site.” In the previous system, new employees would have to use a temporary ID card or function without one until their employee ID card came in the mail.

Interurban Transit Partnership will experience multiple benefits from their new streamlined security. Now fully equipped with an ID card printer, employee ID cards will no longer be an expensive and cumbersome part of their business. Although these changes have taken place unbeknownst to passengers, they, too, can ride the Rapid feeling a little more at ease.