DESPITE mounting public complaints and growing calls for more flexibility in Fiji’s e-ticketing system, the Fiji Bus Operators Association (FBOA) claims the system has had a 99.9992 per cent success rate with 676,888,510 completed ‘Trips Per Tap’ since its introduction in 2017.
FBOA consultant Mick Beddoes told The Fiji Times the numbers they’ve acquired tell a different story from the one often portrayed in the media.
However, members of the public continue to raise concerns on social media and through mainstream news, after being told by Vodafone agents that the new bus cards are out of stock at all outlets nationwide.
“A large per cent of the country has transitioned to a ‘cashless’ economy, and e-ticketing has come through an eight-year transition, so e-ticketing is here to stay,” Mr Beddoes said.
“Over this time, operators have experienced a dramatic improvement in their ‘income retention’ so I would suggest it is not ‘resistance’ but sound ‘common business sense’ not to revert to any cash-based options.”
Vodafone announced yesterday that it has “successfully issued” 427,000 new eTransport cards and that 321,000 of these cards have been used at least once by commuters.
“Furthermore, Vodafone Fiji has identified approximately 700 customers who are still using their old eTransport cards.
“The Customer Care team has proactively initiated contact with these individuals to determine their current locations and facilitate a seamless upgrade or replacement to the new eTransport card.”
Meanwhile, a team from The Fiji Times visited the Vodafone Damodar and MHCC branches and were told that the new red bus cards were still out of stock.