Abu Dhabi: The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi announced the launching of its automated payment system with “Hafilat” smart cards in Al Ain as part of improving the public bus service.
Eleven ticket vending machines (TVM), which enable users to issue and recharge tickets, were installed along with nine banknote reloaded (BR) machines and two ticket office machines (TOM) to sell tickets at the main bus stations, said a DoT press release issued on Saturday. The automated payment system was activated on Sunday.
The machines were installed at various locations in Al Ain City, such as Al Ain International Airport, Al Ain Mall, main bus stations, Al Jimi Mall and Tawam Hospital as part of enhancing the usage of Automated Payment System “Hafilat”.
Saeed Al Hameli, Head of Buses and Water Ferries Team at DoT, said the payment cards provide the feature of adding a certain balance and recharging it, in addition to the possibility of adding other services such as the weekly and monthly passes. These cards enable the bus users to preserve their credit in case of losing the card. In addition, users can add their personal information and be eligible to special offers. Cards can be recharged by cash or credit cards using the different machines available, said Al Hameli.
This smart card or ticket deducts the bus fare directly from the cash value stored in the T-Purse. The fare is calculated automatically based on the distance of the passenger’s journey from the moment he or she boarded the bus until his or her disembarkation. The launch of this smart payment system will facilitate the bus boarding and disembarkation process for passengers.
“Hafilat” smart cards provide special facilities such as storing the monetary value electronically in the T-Purse or using them as weekly or monthly subscriptions. The new payment system ensures accuracy in deducting the bus trip fare based on the distance, and it provides a real-time data and statistics that can be used to improve the planning, analysing and development of processes and services. The T-purse can be used while travelling on internal and external bus routes.
“Hafilat” smart system includes plastic cards for permanent use and paper tickets for temporary use. The smart cards are categorised into anonymous cards and personalised cards that contain information about the passenger stored in the card chip and the DoT customer database. The personalised cards consist of students cards, senior citizens cards and cards for people of determination. Holders of these cards are eligible for free travelling in the city and the suburbs for a year starting from the issuing date.
