Demand for Automated Fare Collection System Poised To Increase with Emergence of Covid-19
Automated
fare collection system is a fare monitoring system that includes automated
ticketing machines for transactions of prepaid and credit cards. The
traditional fare collection process included the POS machine and ticket books,
and the customer had to go to the store or the office to collect their fares.
With the advancement in technology, new types of machines were invented to
replace the older ones. The latest models are very user-friendly and are highly
efficient and effective in the collection of fares.
Automated
fare collection system consists of
ticketing machines, electronic ticket checking, and automated fare collection
machines. Instead of paying by cash, ticketing machines are utilized, and
through various other ways or internet services. The major components of this
system include electronic ticketing machines. This system also includes various
other features such as real time processing, ticket management and accounting,
and integrated database administration. The automation of such a large number
of tasks makes this system highly scalable.
The
advantages of using an automated fare collection system for public transport
agencies are several. As this system does not require people to manually check
and accept the tickets, there is a significant reduction in personnel
requirements. Moreover, with the emergence of Covid-19, the demand for such
systems is poised to increase rapidly. In
Germany, from 3 January 2020 to 6:27pm CEST, 6 July 2021, there have been
3,731,564 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 91,062 deaths, reported to WHO.
When
using automated fare collection systems for public transport, you will
encounter problems when the machine is low on funds. In many countries, a
penalty of up to 50% on the cost of a journey can be levied if a payment cannot
be made. To avoid such problems, it is recommended that the machines are
maintained regularly. Some of these issues can be resolved by contacting the
relevant authorities and consulting them on any problems. If the machine is not
working due to non-payment of fares, then immediate action needs to be taken to
stop usage. Any unauthorised use of the machine may constitute an offence under
the UK Travel Advertising Regulations.
In
order to deliver fully automated fare collection policy, there are certain
guidelines that need to be followed. Firstly, it is essential to ensure that
all the required software is installed. If this is not the case, there are
chances of the software running without any monitoring or control on it. This
can lead to non-payment of fares and tickets in the future. Secondly, it is
important to have a dedicated staff to monitor the machines and ensure that
they are being used properly.
The
third point is integration of the new system with the existing ticketing
system. With the help of a smart card or debit card, customers can make
payments online. If automated ticket collection is to be delivered, then it is
important to have the right payment gateway integrated with the ticketing
system. The software should be able to transfer the payment from the customer's
bank account to the payment gateway of the company involved in ticketing.
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