'Smart cards' to debut in 2013

Starting next month, the Regional Transportation District (Colorado) is leaping into the digital future with the introduction of its new smart card fare payment system for EcoPass holders. Late next year, the smart cards -- dubbed MyRide -- will replace all general bus passes and punch cards throughout the system. For EcoPass holders, of which there are more than 80,000 in Boulder County alone, it means an end to the tiny colored stickers that adorn their bus passes. RTD will instead distribute credit card-sized passes, each equipped with an implanted microchip, that riders can swipe on a reader when they board a bus or light-rail train.