Who would have thought that an app that points left or right would cost a fortune? The Transport Security Administration (TSA) paid $47,400 for an iPad application that randomly points left or right for some lucky travelers to benefit from TSA's Pre-check lane.
For those who have been to U.S. airports, it is known that there is a lane that allows passengers to skip strict security inspection — the TSA Pre-check lanes. TSA personnel can be seen holding an iPad with an icon of arrow that randomly points left or right for passengers to follow. Lucky ones could be led to TSA Pre-check lanes and others would need to undergo the regular airport security inspection.
The TSA Pre-check lanes allows the traveler to keep their belts, jackets and shoes on, they can also have the prerogative of not bringing their laptops out of their bags. This is the TSA's way of reducing long queues on airport security lanes.
The curious web developer, Kevin Burke saw the app and wondered how much the government had spent for an app that just works by randomly pointing either left or right. He filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the data.
Eventually, it turned out that the government paid a total of $336,413.59 to IBM, of which $47,400 was used to develop the TSA randomizer app.
"The total development cost for the randomizer app was $47,400, which was part of the $336,413.59 contract," said the TSA spokesperson to Mashable. The spokesperson did not elaborate more about the contract.
But according to Pratheek Rebala, a self-proclaimed data nerd, the contract has eight different payment transactions and the randomizer app is a part of the bigger contract of TSA and IBM amounting to at least $1.4 million.
"Looks like the project cost $1,444,315. Here [are] the rest of the transactions under the same award..." said Rebala on his Tweeter post.
It is still uncertain what came with the randomizer app with that $1.4 million price. The TSA might have gotten only the app or the app with the iPad, which added to the overall cost.
In a previous Bloomberg report, the randomizer app was used in at least 100 U.S. airports. The app was part of the TSA program called "managed-inclusion," but was discontinued in 2015 when a convicted felon was randomly assigned to a Pre-check line.
Photo: Grant Wickes | Flickr
