Bus agency calls halt to cash-box installation

Bus agency calls halt to cash-box installation

Coin-collection device hits rush-hour snags

A coin-collecting box is shown installed on one of 800 public buses. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has decided to cancel introducing similar boxes on its remaining 1,800 buses as they are seen as unsuitable for serving a large number of passengers during rush hour and are not compatible with the upcoming common ticketing system. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
A coin-collecting box is shown installed on one of 800 public buses. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has decided to cancel introducing similar boxes on its remaining 1,800 buses as they are seen as unsuitable for serving a large number of passengers during rush hour and are not compatible with the upcoming common ticketing system. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The installation of the remaining 1,800 automatic cash boxes on public buses has been halted by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) since the devices have been found to be slow and impractical at rush hours.

Cash boxes are an automated system for the collection of coins on buses.

However, people who use buses have to insert the coins one-by-one, a time-consuming procedure that can lead to traffic jams as the buses wait by the roadside.

BMTA board chairman Nattachat Jarujinda said on Monday the agency instructed Cho Thavee Plc, the listed private supplier contracted to equip BMTA buses with cash boxes, to suspend further installation.

The company has been installing the first lot of 800 cash boxes on buses, scheduled for completion today.

Mr Nattachat said the BMTA will negotiate with Cho Thavee for the contract to be amended. The cash boxes are not suitable for commuters during rush hours, he said.

Cash will soon not be necessary for bus transport as the common ticketing system, called the Maengmoom (Spider) card, is expected to be implemented on all public transport modes in the next two years, he added.

Cho Thavee is also the contractor for the installation of e-ticket reading machines on 2,600 city public buses.

The e-ticket installation contract would remain unchanged, said Mr Nattachat.

Some 800 public buses which have been equipped with the e-ticket reading machines were currently being test-run, he said, adding that installation on the rest will be finished by next June.

"I was appointed board chairman after the contract [for cash box installation] had been signed. If I had been named before that, I would not have let this project proceed because I know tests on the use of cash boxes were conducted on only two or three stationary buses," Mr Nattachat said.

The tests should have been run on around 40-50 buses in each area over a time frame of three to six months to ensure the cash boxes could be used in real-life circumstances before seeking a contractor for the installation, he said.

The cash box and e-ticket reading deals contracted to Cho Thavee under a five-year concession are worth around 1.6 billion baht. It is unclear how the change to the cash box contract will affect the contract price.

The company's executives could not be reached for comment at press time last night.

Commenting on the problems with the cash boxes, newly appointed Deputy Transport Minister Pailin Chuchottaworn suggested the agency launch so-called "sandbox" testing before holding bids for other projects, to avoid such a problem happening again.

Sandbox testing involves volunteers in a trial zone so an agency can compile data and assess the shortcomings of a project.

Speaking about a plan to reduce the number of BMTA employees, he said bus conductors remained necessary during the transition period before the common ticketing system comes into use.

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