New prepaid paying system for commuting public

Yeukai Karerngezeka Herald Correspondent
A GLOBAL firm, City Card, has entered into an agreement with the Greater Harare Association of Commuter Operators (GHACO) for the introduction of a tap-and-go card to ease commuters’ burden of paying fares in cash.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday in Harare.

Installation of the machines is expected to commence from Monday next week.

The card works in tandem with a bus tolling machine or card-reader situated in a commuter omnibus. Once a customer taps the card onto the card-reader, a transaction would be completed.

The system does not require any form of network to process a payment.

Cards will be available at all CDB termini. Speaking at the launch, City Card chief executive officer Mr Ngonidzashe Matsenga said the pilot project will start with 100 vehicles that ply local routes.

“We are trying to help the commuting public to better manage their transport costs through the use of the card. We are targeting to start with at least 100 commuter omnibuses with selected destinations. These include areas such as Chitungwiza, Glen View, Budiriro, Ruwa, and Zimre Park, among others,” he said.

GHACO secretary Mr Ngonidzashe Katsvairo said the introduction of the cards will bring a modicum of sanity in the transport sector.

“This system will bring order as customer will pay a consistent fare. The system also has a tracker, making it feasible for the operators to better plan and manage. This will also curb leakages of money as the money directly gets into an account.

“The fares should be stable and be directly linked to cost of operations. Fares will only be increased when the fuel price has also been increased,” he said.

Mr Katsvairo said at the moment, a commuter can pay for a month.

The bus fares range from $2 to $3,50 per route depending on the distance.

He added that they were grateful to Government for assisting them find a fuel supplier who allocates fuel to public transporters under GHACO.

The deal entails public transporters using the card system getting 50 litres of fuel per day.