Too many commuters are frustrated with the new Jerusalem smart card system for payment on the city’s buses and light rail. The process of placing the cards in the digital reader is time consuming, resulting in lines that exceed anything seen in the old days when one had a ticket punched or simply showed the driver a monthly pass as one walked by. Particularly time consuming is when one wishes to fill one’s card.
Seeking to resolve the situation and improve service, Jerusalem official Kobi Mamalia has given the order to the company contracted to carry out the Geula neighborhood improvement program to run electric lines under the new sidewalks to protrude adjacent to bus stops. The hope is that in the future, after the bus stops are set in place, alongside will be digital smart card readers that will permit filling a smart card outside of the bus, similar to the machines at stops along the Jerusalem light rail route.
Mamalia hopes to have these units placed at bus stops in other areas of the city as well. Behind the plan stands Councilman Shlomo Rubinstein, who explains that in the next phase of the program, he hopes passengers will be able to pay for a ride prior to boarding a bus, which would be a major time save for passengers. This however is also contingent on the approval of the Ministry of Transportation.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
What could greatly speed up boarding would be for there to be devices for buying more rides spread out allover the country. It would also help if the devices accepted credit cards. Maybe some of the old public phones could be converted into such stations?