FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Coin boxes pulled from Bangkok buses, too slow for rush hour

Coin boxes pulled from Bangkok buses, too slow for rush hour

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has pulled automatic cash boxes from 800 public buses because they were doing a poor job collecting fares in coins.

It was found that the system was too slow for the large numbers of commuters during rush hours, resulting in traffic jams, a source at the agency said.
The coin boxes would have become obsolete within two years anyway, the source said, since an e-ticket system and “Spider” stored-value cards are to be introduced on all buses and rapid transit systems in Bangkok.
Authority board chairman Natthachart Charuchinda made the call to halt installation of the devices on 1,800 more buses.
The agency will renegotiate its contract with private firm Ch Thavee Plc, which was to outfit 2,600 buses in total.
The technical glitches were noted during a trial period at the outset of a Bt1.665-billion, five-year project, during which the agency intended to rent the cash boxes and an e-ticket system from Ch Thavee.

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