Washington state has issued more than 2,000 new hybrid drivers license-passport cards since it began issuing them a month ago, and 13,000 more people have signed up to apply, state officials said.

The Enhanced Drivers License program, started by Washington state in conjunction with the Homeland Security Department, became operational Jan. 22. The new licenses also serve as border-crossing cards that enable travel across some U.S. land borders in lieu of a passport.

“The Enhanced Drivers License program has been going very well,” Gigi Zenk, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Licensing, told Washington Technology. “People seem to want them. They enjoy the convenience.”

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The cards are the same size as regular licenses, but with a different design. They feature a machine-readable zone and a radio frequency identification tag that can be scanned by a reader from 20 feet away. The RFID tag contains only a reference number to protect personal information on the card.

The identification cards, which cost $40 for renewals and $15 for existing licenses, enable Washington State residents to travel freely across the U.S. land border with Canada. They are being marketed as a low-cost alternative to passports.

The RFID tags are not being read because the scanners are not yet in place, Zenk said. The readers will be installed in the near future, she said.

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