Four bus routes and all train lines already receive debit and credit cards for the payment of tickets, as well as electronic bracelets and smart watches. And it is that to date, it is only necessary to incorporate one more route and with it, the authorities will be able to measure the results of this new payment method in public transport.
The last line to join was Cartago-Tejar-San Isidro-Higuito-Parque Industrial, which increased the number of buses that receive electronic payment throughout the country to 95 units.
This new route will benefit more than 47,000 inhabitants of various communities in the Carthaginian canton, allowing passengers a faster, easier and safer payment, according to the Central Bank. And it is that users have the opportunity to pay their ticket with debit, credit or prepaid cards, bracelets, mobile phones or smartwatches, among other devices.
Improving the payment experience of public transport
“Payment through this modality improves the payment experience of public transport users, avoiding the need to obtain small bills or coins to pay for their trip, specializing the driver by focusing on driving issues thanks to the reduction of interaction with users at the time of payment; it also helps reduce boarding and travel times by speeding up the collection process,” said Carlos Melegatti, director of the Central Bank’s Payment Systems Division. The system works on all train routes and also operates on the Sabana-Estadio and Sabana-Cementerio bus lines, as well as several Heredia and Alajuela lines.
According to the sheet outlined, by the end of this year electronic payment will be operational in 200 bus units of the six routes that had been projected in the pilot program, making the process of boarding a bus faster, easier, safe and healthy.
