Dhaka Metro Rail passengers have been facing a renewed shortage of Rapid Pass cards across all 16 stations of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6, with the crisis persisting for the past 15 days.
Commuters say the scarcity has left them queuing long hours at vending machines and ticket counters for single-journey tickets. They blame the shortage on poor planning, noting that the authorities have failed to ensure sufficient supply despite steadily rising demand.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), which supplies Rapid Pass cards embedded with Sony Silicon chips, introduced the system to make fare collection easier across different transport services.
Currently, 99 per cent of Rapid Pass usage is concentrated in the metro rail, while a limited number are used in the Hatirjheel circular bus service introduced a few months ago.
DTCA officials admitted that demand has surged unexpectedly, increasing threefold over the past four months.
According to Clearing House data, daily sales now average 1,500 cards, up from 500, with a peak of 2,000 cards sold in a single day. The authority last supplied 250,000 cards in April, though procurement had been delayed for two to three months due to bureaucratic hurdles.
Mahbubur Rahman, DTCA's additional executive director of Policy and Planning, says another consignment of 250,000 cards has already arrived in the country but clearance has been held up due to the government holiday.
"The cards will be available in all sales booths from Monday once the holiday ends," he told The Financial Express. "Unusual demand for Rapid Pass has created this crisis. Despite taking the initiative, procurement could not be completed in time."
The DTCA Clearing House department typically initiates procurement of 250,000 Rapid Pass cards three to four months in advance, Mr Rahman said.
He added that while more cards could be procured, the authority is cautious about overstocking if demand subsides.
Although Rapid Pass was introduced under the "One Card for All Transports" vision, its demand remains largely metro rail-centric. Since the launch of MRT-6, demand has steadily increased as seasonal passengers also opt to keep Rapid Passes to avoid the hassle of buying single-journey tickets.
To reduce dependence on Rapid Pass and single tickets, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the state-owned operator of MRT-6, has recently initiated steps to allow credit card payments for metro rail journeys.
smunima@yahoo.com
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