PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has called for better public bus services and questioned Fiji’s reliance on a single e-ticketing provider, saying commuters deserve efficient service, regardless of which company is in charge.
“Whether Vodafone got there first, I don’t care. I want the people to get good service,” Mr Rabuka told The Fiji Times.
He was responding to growing complaints from frustrated members of the public about persistent problems with the current e-ticketing platform, ranging from faulty top-ups and broken machines to missing card balances and a shortage of agents.
Mr Rabuka said it was time to revisit the original plan to open the market to multiple suppliers.
“We have to look at what is happening and whether what we said would happen, to take out e-ticketing or widen the suppliers, actually happens.
“Cast the net wider.
“Who else can supply the services of e-ticketing for the people?”
He stressed the focus should remain on the experience of ordinary commuters.
“The bottom line is how the bus-traveling people are catered for.
“That is what we must consider.”
On June 18, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications Manoa Kamikamica said he had met senior Vodafone executives to address public concerns and promised stronger oversight of the system.
Mr Kamikamica said the issues raised were being taken seriously and reforms were underway.
Meanwhile, in an effort to address customer complaints during the e-ticketing card migration period, Vodafone has regularly updated its Facebook page with information on card replacement locations and has increased seating capacity in areas where long queues have been reported.
