MOPT Wants To See
Electronic Payment on
Public Buses
The Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
announced that it will
demand that all public
bus operators install an
electronic fare payment
system as a condition of
renewing their route
concession permits which
are due to expire in
September.
If the plan moves
forward, using coins and
bills to pay a bus fare
will be a thing of the
past in the coming
years.
Maritza Hernández,
president of the Cámara
Nacional de Transportes,
said that her
organization is already
working with the project
and is analyzing
proposals from
suppliers.
The 310 bus
concessionaires who have
their permits expiring
in September have to
commit to modernize and
better their bus fleet
and services to the
public if they want to
keep the route
concession, according to
Viviana Martín,
vice-minister of
Transportes.
The vice-minister added
that the same demand
will be made of the
other 420 bus operators
who concessions expire
later.
The request is part of a
plan to have all bus
install an electronic
pay system by 2008 that
would also allow seniors
to travel free or at a
discounted fare.
Currently, 135.000
seniors use the
preferred ticket system
provided by the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro
Social (CCSS). Many
seniors have complained
to authorities of the
indifference or poor
attitude of bus drivers,
and in some cases, who
have flat out refusied
to accept the tickets,
as the current
electronic counter
installed on the buses
does not distinguish the
age of the passenger and
where drivers complain
they are penalized by
their employers.
Under the new system,
seniors would be issued
a credit card type of
pass that would be
recognized by the
electronic pay system
installed in the
vehicle.
The electronic fare
system plan will be
first be installed on
all 42 routes in the
Área Metropolitana (San
José). The plan is then
to extend the system to
routes in Cartago,
Puntarenas, Guanacaste
and finally on all bus
routes.
According to Hernández
for the plan to work
there will be required a
co-operation by all
public agencies, like
the CCSS that will have
to provide a list of all
seniors who receive
financial aid for public
transport.
And the MOPT and the
Autoridad Reguladora de
los Servicios Públicos (Aresep)
who will have to budget
the process, as it will
require a large
investment by the bus
operators, and reflected
in the price of the
fare.
The details of the new
system are not yet
known. Bus operators
fear that any rushed
implementation of an
electronic system may
cause chaos and are
asking for a slow
process in
implementation. |
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