Sterling Bank Plc in partnership with Primero, LAMATA and E-Purse Systems Limited have commenced electronic ticketing system implementation for Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) in Lagos.
As an integral part of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS), the e-ticketing system would facilitate improved travel planning for commuters and also help reduce time commuters wait for buses at bus stops before embarking on their trips. This is in addition to its benefit of recording important data in transport operations for the purposes of effective planning and regulating transport services in the state.
Commenting on the new initiative of the bank and its partners during a bus ride by senior executives of Sterling Bank and other stakeholders to demonstrate the work-ability of the new payment system, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Yemi Adeola, described the system as a Public, Private Partnership (PPP) innovation and the first of its kind in Africa.
He explained that the e-ticketing system would not only impact positively on the nation’s transportation system but also on the continent’s transport sector, pointing out that the role of government is to create an enabling environment for the private sector and also ensure free movement of people, goods and services.
The seasoned banker said the automation of the fare payment system would also move the transportation sector from the historical approach to a modern method of payment and also make it easy for people to commute more efficiently nationwide.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of Primero Transport Company, Mr. Fola Tinubu, explained that the contactless card would work alongside with the existing manual ticketing system before the end of the first quarter of 2018, when the manual payment system would be phased out.
Also, Sterling Bank’s Head of Digital Banking, Mr. Olugbenga Adams, described the Automated Fare Collection system as a modern way for payments of fares on Urban Mass Transit as obtains in developed countries.
Adams hinted that the system being multi-modal would work on other transport modes.
