At last
After much delay and roadblocks, the Transportation Security Administration yesterday announced some progress on the Transportation Workers Identification Program. On Oct. 16, individuals at the port of Wilmington, Del. will become the first workers in the nation in enroll in the program that will give out universal IDs for port workers, a program originally developed in 2002.
The TSA also listed 11 other ports (see the above link for the full list) that will line up for enrollment in November.
The TWIC is a tamper-resistant smart card containing the worker's biometric fingerprint template to allow for a positive link between the card itself and the individual.
The agency also announced that the TWIC fee has been lowered to $132.50, a whooping $5 decrease.
May not sound like much to the individual port workers, longshoremen, truckers and railroad workers who need to sign up, but multiply that savings by the 750,000 workers estimated to enroll.
After all the setbacks with this program, is your port ready for the implementation phase?
