More than one year after its introduction, Rapid Pass, the IC card-based mass transport ticketing system, is yet to gain popularity among passengers in Dhaka city mainly due to lack of adequate measures.
Unwillingness of most bus operators to introduce integrated circuit (IC) cards and lack of necessary infrastructures are also blamed for failure to popularise it on public transports.
Sources said Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) launched the Rapid Pass under a project titled 'Establishment of clearing house for integrating transport ticketing system in Dhaka city.
DTCA got 60,000 IC cards as a grant from the project's financier Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). But nearly 58,000 cards still remain unsold.
The authority could sell around 3,000 cards through designated banks and bus counters. Of them, only 1,000 cards are active. On average, Tk 300 was spent on each of active Rapid Pass.
According to officials, DTCA has launched Rapid Pass service on some bus routes of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and circular bus services in Gulshan and Hatirjheel areas.
Of these, Dhakar Chaka and Hatirjheel circular buses have card users. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority stopped using them due to non-cooperation by bus operators mainly ticket collectors, they added.
DTCA also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) to introduce the card system for launch services. But the plan also could not be executed.
However, passengers are seen happy using rapid pass cards.
Bithi, a banker working at Commercial Bank of Ceylon in Gulshan area, said she uses the card to avoid purchasing tickets everyday. As she is a regular passenger of Dhakar Chaka, it helps her avail service to and from her home at Badda.
"The card could have been popular if it could be used on other transports too," she added.
Mahbub, ticket seller of Dhakar Chaka, pointed out lack of facility for recharging cards. Proper placement of charging device is necessary to make the cards user-friendly, he said.
"At present, rapid pass cardholders place their cards at the counter, not on the bus and then get into the bus. Sometime they have to go to the bank concerned to top up money into it," he told the FE.
He also claimed that the ticket counters under the umbrellas are not helpful in introducing IC cards.
DTCA has chosen Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd to work as Clearing House Bank to sell and recharge the cards. DTCA has a data centre of clearing house.
Though bank officials said they sell the cards from all branches, it is alleged that only the branches nearby circular bus services keep the Rapid Pass.
This correspondent didn't find any banner of Rapid Pass at Gulshan Branch of the bank even though it has put all its products on display.
Zakir Hossain Mojumder, additional executive director of DTCA, admitted that the IC card system is yet to become popular. It will become popular automatically after full operation of the mass transit system, he said.
"As MRT and BRT are not in operation, people don't understand its usability now. Its use will be visible after MRT and BRT operation," he added.
Though DTCA introduced the Rapid Pass as an interim measure, it has now started talking with JICA to increase facilities for card users.
The DTCA official said they were trying to incorporate services like credit card and utility bill payment etc so that the cards can gain popularity.
Mr Zakir said they have also plans to take up another project to introduce multipurpose service in Rapid Pass.
Under the project taken earlier, DTCA had planned to create awareness among the passengers about the use of IC cards. Though the project ended in 2017, no such scheme was executed except inauguration of Rapid Pass by the Prime Minister in January 2018.
DTCA launched another IC card named SPASS for two BRTC bus services in 2012 and DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) service of Bangladesh Railway in 2013. But both services did not work out for a long time.
smunima@yahoo.com