The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority board is expected to approve a proposal to terminate the use of automated cash payment ticket dispensers on the city's public buses later this week.
BMTA acting deputy director (management) Panida Thongsuk said on Monday the bus agency will ask the board to cancel the cash box scheme on Thursday this week. This will not affect the installation of the e-ticket reading system on buses.
Cash boxes are automated and accept coins or banknotes and issue tickets and give change on public buses. The e-ticket readers are supposed to work with the common ticketing system designed to link all modes of transport in Bangkok.
About 800 of the cash boxes have already been installed on city buses. The installation programme was put on hold after the machines were found to be slow and impractical during rush hours.
If the proposal is approved by the board, all the cash machines already installed on buses will be removed, Ms Panida said.
The BMTA was waiting for a reply from the Comptroller-General's Department on amending the contract with Cho Thavee Co, which is also contracted to install e-ticket readers on the city bus fleet.
Ms Panida said two e-ticket readers were handed over to the BMTA on May 17 and they were working fine so far. The first batch of 100 e-ticket readers were expected to be delivered today.
She said if the e-ticket readers work properly during a trial run, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy Planning will be notified so it can prepare for the common ticketing system.
