Queueing up behind folks fumbling and floundering on EZ-Link top-up machines may soon be a thing of the past — the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are looking into using contactless payment functions with credit and debit cards.
No need for top-ups anymore — fare transactions can be charged directly to your credit or bank account. The system is actually not that new of course, as contactless transactions such as Visa’s payWave and MasterCard’s PayPass also see customers simply tap their card to pay for items.
LTA called for a tender yesterday for a consultancy study into the account-based ticketing system. “Should the Account-Based Ticketing pilot be successful, Singapore would be one of the few cities in the world to adopt this fare payment system,” LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong enthused.
Software in fare readers on buses and at MRT stations will have to be upgraded progressively to gear up for the new system. Tests will be run in the fourth quarter of the year.
