show stopping negatives

There's already a private company running a Registered Traveler test program at the Orlando (Fla.) Airport. Verified Identity Pass, which was started by media entrepreneur Steven Brill, charges $79.95 for the card.


Earlier this month, the company told the TSA that it tested whether commercial data services could authenticate that a person is who he says he is.


The results: "We dropped the idea after fully testing it and finding that it had no security benefits and significant, almost show-stopping negatives," the company said in a document responding to the TSA's request for information.


Other private companies such as General Electric, ARINC and Iridian Technologies, along with airports, think there's money to be made in the business of verifying people's identity at airports.


"Travelers want it," said Steve van Beek, spokesman for the airport group Airports Council International. "We can accommodate their desire for customer service and provide better security."


___


On the Net:


Transportation Security Administration:


Registered Traveler Consortium:


www.tsa.gov


www.rtconsortium.org/


URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/01/20/national/w024620S17.DTL