A completed pilot of facial recognition technology on Santiago’s public bus network has demonstrated 98 percent accuracy across varied real-world conditions, with results strong enough that Chile’s Metropolitan Public Transport Directorate (DTPM) is expanding the trial ahead of a potential full network rollout later this year.
The pilot ran on route 406 of the Red bus network, operated by Metbus, using high-precision cameras powered by facial recognition algorithms from Innovatrics, a Slovak biometrics company whose technology consistently ranks among the top performers in NIST evaluations. RSA, a Chilean systems integrator, handled implementation on the ground. Enrolled passengers could board without presenting a physical “Bip!” card or mobile QR code – their face served as the fare payment credential.
The accuracy figure held across difficult conditions: low light, fog, and passengers wearing hats or glasses. “This technology identifies unique facial features to verify identity in real-time,” said Enrique Sepúlveda, General Manager of RSA. “The goal is a seamless, secure, and efficient experience where your face becomes your ticket.”
Beyond convenience, the DTPM’s interest is partly driven by Santiago’s chronic fare evasion problem. The city’s Red network recorded a 38.2 percent evasion rate – a significant fiscal drain on a publicly subsidized system. Automating boarding validation removes the friction that allows passengers to slip through. The system also addresses subsidy fraud: because the biometric check ties benefits to a specific individual’s face, discounted fares for students and seniors cannot be transferred or shared.
The pilot produced an additional capability that transit authorities are watching closely: the same camera infrastructure can flag individuals with active legal warrants during boarding, giving law enforcement a passive tool for public safety that does not require officers to be stationed at every stop. How that feature will be governed in a full deployment has not yet been detailed publicly.
Following the pilot’s conclusion, DTPM has announced plans to expand from 5 to 10 buses in the coming months. If performance holds at scale, a full rollout across the Red Movilidad network is projected for the second half of 2026. That would make Santiago one of the first major Latin American cities to deploy city-wide biometric fare payment on public transit.
The Santiago deployment shows a pattern emerging across transit networks globally: facial recognition is being evaluated not just as a convenience feature but as an operational tool for revenue protection and security, with the biometric check bundling multiple functions – payment, subsidy validation, and safety – into a single gate interaction. Whether regulators and riders in other cities accept that bundling will shape how broadly the model spreads.
Sources: Innovatrics
–
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
