E-ticketing: Hyped Solution, Few Takers. What Went Wrong?

The ambitious effort to modernise fare collection, enhance transparency, and introduce digitalisation in Dhaka's bustling bus system through electronic ticketing has hit a roadblock in less than a year since its inception.

Despite the promising start of e-ticketing in November last year, various challenges have emerged, causing both bus staff and passengers to be reluctant about adopting the system.

Stakeholders say the crux of the problem lies in the reluctance exhibited by bus drivers and helpers towards the system, as they view it as non-profitable.

Meanwhile, bus staff say they find the Point of Sale (POS) machines inconvenient to generate tickets during rush hours as the system consumes time. They also allege technical glitches in the machine which create problems in fare collection.

Allegations have further emerged that passengers are not actively seeking e-tickets, which has led to instances where conductors choose not to issue them.

A passenger named Brishti Dey said, "As I know the fare, I pay the amount accordingly. That is why sometimes I do not seek a ticket."

However, another passenger from Mirpur, named Jahangir Alam, said commuters had been given e-tickets earlier, but now conductors in the many buses seldom give the tickets.

E-ticketing fails to bring discipline in Dhaka public transport

"When we ask for tickets, the conductor just remains silent or says the machine does not work or there is no machine today. Sometimes the conductor gets involved in a quarrel with the passengers about tickets," he added.

Md Rafiq, conductor of Shikor Paribahan, said, "When there is a crowd in the bus, we cannot use the POS machine as it takes time. In some cases, the passengers are not interested in taking tickets. If the passengers want, I give them tickets."

"Sometimes technical glitches occur at the POS machines so we fail to issue tickets. Further, the machine cannot be hung around the neck all the time," said Midline Paribahan conductor Md Rubel.

The e-ticketing system was inaugurated for city buses on 13 November last year. The launch included 1,643 buses from 30 different companies, aimed at eliminating extra fare collection on buses operating within Dhaka city and its suburban routes.

Subsequently, the implementation was carried out in stages, covering a total of 4,000 buses servicing 65 different routes out of the 5,650 buses covering 79 routes within the city.

During a series of visits to various buses operating on different routes, this reporter observed a trend where ticket issuance was notably absent. Among the bus companies surveyed, among which were Midline Paribahan, Tarango Paribahan, Ramzan Paribahan, Bihanga Paribahan, Bikalpa Paribahan and Shikar Paribahan, the issuance of tickets was found to be lacking.

Furthermore, this issue has extended to other bus companies such as Shadhin Paribahan, Labbaik Paribahan, Lovely Paribahan, Bikalpa Paribahan, Ajmeri Paribahan, Gazipur Paribahan, Bikash Paribahan, Thikana Paribahan and Savar Transport.

It was also observed that many of the buses surveyed lacked Point of Sale (POS) machines, further exacerbating the situation.

Mahbubur Rahman, vice-president of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, said, "E-ticketing is a newly introduced system and many problems have appeared in this regard. We are trying hard to address those."

"We trained the conductors to use the machine but could not make them eager to use it. They seem to lack interest in it. Negligence has grown among the staff as they got no benefit from using this. Rather, the system is an obstacle for them where stealing money is concerned," he said.

"However, we have started to take action against the irregularities. We have formed several teams to monitor the use of the new system," he added.

Meanwhile, some drivers and helpers alleged that vehicle owners continue to provide buses under contractual agreements, charging a certain amount of money per day. This situation diminished their motivation to adopt the e-ticketing system.

Acknowledging the allegation, Mahbubur Rahman said, "We have got such allegations and we are trying to resolve the issue. We have sat with owners of transport companies."

"They have been asked to fix the issues and stop the contract-based vehicle rent. We have also warned them that in future we will take tougher action against the violators," he added.

A company named Jatri Service Ltd is supplying the POS machines on rent for the e-ticketing system. They take 1.5% of the total income per day as rent against each machine from each bus.

Golam Ishfaque, vice president of Jatri Service Limited, said, "We have invested here, and are working with bus companies as ticketing partners. We get a share of the tickets sold. So if they do not use the machines, we face financial losses. But we know that there will be no sudden change."

"To increase the use of e-tickets, we have introduced incentives to those bus companies which issue the most POS machine tickets. We are also trying to encourage bus helpers in this regard. Our operations team is also monitoring this issue regularly," he added.