Decentralized Identity Management for Public Transportation

Abstract

Identity Management on the Internet has been a challenging topic over the last few years. Personal information theft and identity data breaches are not uncommon and are often a result of current Identity Management practices and system architectures. Identity management is largely centralized, harming the privacy of users. With the rise of blockchain technology, a new concept of Identity Management is evolving called Self-sovereign Identity (SSI). This new paradigm has been ignited by the evolution of digital Identity Management Systems and distributed ledgers. In this research, blockchain technology is examined to determine how a Decentralized Identity Management System (DIdMS) could be used for public transportation. In order to exploit its full potential, it is essential to review attributes of a Self-sovereign Identity as well as analyze existing DIdMS. The paper describes how the system utilizes blockchain technology to provide a high-level of security, trust and transparency for all the involved parties. The aim is to develop a system that serves as a proof-of-concept and provides a Self-sovereign Identity to the users. Following the Design Science Research methodology, the proposed system has been analyzed based on existing ticketing solutions, and principles of SSI. From these requirements a prototype was developed to showcase how passengers can utilize a standardized travel credential that's valid across different transportation networks in Europe. This removes the barriers of having multiple travel cards for each transportation provider. Moreover, it empowers individuals to have full control over their identities while creating an interoperable ticketing system across Europe. This aligns with the goal of the European Union to create a Single Transportation Market by 2050 while focusing on privacy and data integrity between different Public Transportation Providers.