Public buses will soon be adopting an open payment system, moving away from the Touch ‘N Go monopoly.
The Star reports Transport Minister Anthony Loke explaining that the plan was already in the pipeline for some time. It was originally meant to be rolled out at the same time as the open payment for the rail system, but the ministry has opted to focus on public buses first.
This comes after a news report of a German tourist who could not board a bus due to not having a TNG card.
According to Loke, the delay in adopting open payments is due to complications with the rail system as the payment terminals would need to be synced across multiple stations. However, buses are easier to convert as there is only a single point of entry and exit.
At the moment, the ministry is waiting for tenders to be submitted. Once confirmed, the rollout is expected to take up to six months to be completed – with the goal of having all RapidKL buses on the open payment system by the end of the year.
