Bar coding is a proven technology that has been in existence for more than 40 years. It is used extensively in many industries and is the de facto standard for identification technology. Some transit systems have successfully implemented bar coding systems for inventory control, asset control, and timekeeping. This usage, however, has been limited, and the advantages of this technology have yet to be fully realized by operators or suppliers in the industry. Thus, a greater understanding of bar coding and its benefits is required to expand its use in the transit industry.

There is no guidebook available for public transit professionals that describes the order-of-magnitude costs, cost-effectiveness, pay-back period, and advantages of bar coding. Such a document is needed to guide the selection of hardware and software products and to identify issues for system implementation and integration. Furthermore, it provides information from which managers can develop specifications or requests for proposals.

The objective of this project was to increase the acceptance and ease the implementation of bar coding in the transit industry through the development of a guidebook. The guidebook focuses on the benefits of using bar coding, equipment selection, systems implementation, and symbology standards, but not on a textbook description of bar coding technology. This project addresses technological advances applicable to transit; for example, improved system integration capability.

Status: The revised final report was submitted in January 1996. The "Bar Code Application Guidebook" has been published as TCRP Web Document 10. It is available in portable document format (PDF). Double-click on the files below to access the document. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the very large size of some files, it may take a long time--possibly more than 1 hour collectively-- to download. We regret the inconvenience.

TCRP Web Document 10