Durban - The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) said the Integrated Fare Management System would see each public transport commuter have a single mobility account that covers trips on several modes of transport where there is no need to carry cash.
This was revealed at the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa, which started in Cape Town last week.
The Integrated Fare Management System is an initiative between SANRAL and the National Department of Transport.
“For example, if a commuter travels by bus to a train station where she transfers to a train to complete the journey, she would only pay once for the combined journey from start to finish,” said the parastatal.
SANRAL northern region project manager Siveshni Pillay detailed the plan at the conference that was attended by African and global road experts and decision-makers.
Pillay said the principle aim of the integrated ticketing solution is to eliminate the use of cash, reduce operating costs and improve fare collection efficiency.
She said while the country’s public transport system needs improvement, the integrated ticketing solution option will make for smoother, efficient travelling.
Pillay said the safety element of travelling without carrying cash is also a huge motivating factor.
“Despite high public transport usage and reliance, there exists huge disparities in service delivery and integration between various modes of transport,” she said.
According to Pillay the system will allow a commuter to use the same “prepaid” card to pay for a ride on a taxi, bus or train, forming an Integrated Public Transport Network.
“The administration and management of cash fares, with the concomitant security issues make fare collection onerous. The National Department of Transport’s account-based ticketing solution solves this,” she said.
Pillay further explained that the ticket value balance will be stored on the card, enabling a top-up option. The card-holder can remain anonymous or choose to register a personalised account and this system is fully auditable.
“The provision of the service that can be provided by the Transaction Clearing House (TCH) is multi-layered. The first phase is the implementation of the mobility account for use on various modes of transport,” she said.
Pillay said future integration development could include fare structuring based on the different modes of transport such as flat fare and distance based among other factors.
She said eventually a commuter will be charged once for a journey that uses the services from more than one transport operator.