DOHA: The current ticketing system in public buses in Qatar will soon be phased out with Mowasalat finalising plans to introduce pre-paid smart cards for passengers.
The company yesterday signed an agreement with Kentkart, a leading Turkish company, to introduce state-of-the art information and ticketing solutions in public buses, including an automatic fare collection system.
The agreement was signed by Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti, chairman of Mowasalat, and Ercan R Unal, general manager of Kentkart, at the Karwa headquarters in the presence of other senior Mowasalat officials.
The new system, to be introduced in a few months, will enable bus passengers to pay the fares using pre-paid smart cards, which will be similar to telephone cards. The passenger will only have to swipe the card in an electronic machine installed in the bus and collect a receipt.
The bus driver will be able to check the payment through a machine near the driver's seat electronically linked to the ticketing machine.
At least a few buses using the new system will be on the roads by September, it was disclosed at a press conference yesterday. Mowasalat has already installed the machines in some of its buses on a trial basis.
The current ticketing system using cash payments will be completely phased out when all the buses are equipped with the
new device.
The rechargeable cards will be available in a range of values to suit all segments of the population. Passengers will be able to buy them in neighbourhood stores across the country, said the officials. Disposable cards will also be available.
Mowasalat had been working with Kentkart for 18 months experimenting with designs to evaluate their technical specifications and see how the new system would serve the Qatari market.
The new system also allows the company to have a database that provides full details of passenger movement as well
as routes.
It also identifies the number of passengers, high density destinations and the days and times of high demand on the buses.
© The Peninsula 2010
