DIGICEL is expected to be part of Fiji’s e-ticketing system within the next two months, allowing the public to choose from two e-ticketing service providers.
This, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Communications Minister Manoa Kamikamica.
He said discussions were already underway to integrate Digicel’s platform with the current system operated by Vodafone.
“Digicel is obviously the other larger operator in Fiji, and they are already talking about how to integrate the system so in this month or next month, they should be able to get Digicel done,” Mr Kamikamica said.
“They’ve already signed some non-disclosure agreement with Sole Fiji to be able to look at how to integrate.
“This means that there will be two systems, and the public will have the option on where to replenish and on which card to use on which system as well.”
He said once the e-ticketing system was fully stabilised in the bus industry, Government would explore rolling it out to other forms of public transport, including taxis, minivans and inter-island shipping.
“The plan is, once the e-ticketing settles in for the bus industry, we’ll start looking at taxis, minivans, and also other forms of shipping.”
Mr Kamikamica said tourists were also being included in these new initiatives allowing MasterCard and Visa compatibility.
Mr Kamikamica acknowledged the rollout was complex, with about 450,000 cards already in circulation.
“It’s virtually a full-nation approach when you address this, but I’m sure Vodafone has learned a lot of lessons, and we’ll see how we go from here.”