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Posted on Saturday July 18th at 10:22 a.m.
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Whakapapa's new RFID cards
These are one component of a super cool new system we've installed on the mountain and have the potential to give some amazing new benefits in future (maybe even allowing you to see how many runs you get in each day!)
For now you'll notice two great advantages of these cards over the old barcode system
- They're really easy to scan! The old barcoded cards took up a fair bit of time and hassle getting your card out and holding it just right for the ticket checker at the lift. But the new cards can be scanned from inside your pocket! Just point to where your card is stored as you approach the ticket checker and they'll be able to get a read on it no trouble at all. Nice! Your lovely face will appear in full colour on the scanner screen so the ticket checker will know it's your card and you can be on your way.
- All your discount entitlements are pre-loaded on the card! No need to remember a voucher book - as long as you have your pass with you you'll have your discounts on hand.
How does it work? Well, a chip in the card itself holds your pass number but no other information. When it's scanned it's passed to the database where it is verified as a valid pass and then the photo and guest information is passed back from the database to the scanner. All this happens in the blink of an eye! Basically the chip is doing the same as a barcode but it can be read from further away without being sighted so keeps you moving with minimum hassle.