VietNamNet Bridge – The Hanoi Center for Urban Traffic Management is working on the plan to replace tickets by smart cards on ten bus routes.

Smart card trial fails to woo commuters

HCM City to uses e-tickets for bus service

The center’s director, Nguyen Hoang Hai said that passengers will purchase the smart cards to charge with money on a monthly or yearly basis. Money on accounts will be discounted after each time of use.

“It is difficult to fake this kind of smart card. Moreover, the cards will archive information about passengers’ travel, which can help us better manage the bus service,” Hai said.

This is the follow-up of the experimental use of smart cards on the bus route No. 32 in 2008. However, passengers of this experimental route were not keen on smart cards because many of them did not only travel on this route.

This time, the Hanoi Center for Urban Traffic Management will use smart cards for several routes that pass the major Long Bien bus station. After that, the card will be used for all bus routes in Hanoi.

Hai said that the plan will be submitted to the Hanoi Department of Transport this month and then to the Hanoi authorities for approval and implementation in 2011.

PV