Bus passengers in the United Arab Emirates city of Sharjah now may use smart cards to pay their fares, an official for the Sharjah Public Transport Corp. tells PaymentsSource.
“The Sayer smart cards will make [paying fares] convenient for bus passengers,” he says. “This method of e-payment will save users time instead of [having to pay] for a ticket for every bus trip.”
Users insert their cards into card readers deployed in the city’s buses that automatically deduct the fares, the official says. Riders pay five dirham (US$1.36 or 1.11 euros) to purchase the cards from vending machines deployed at two stations.
The cards are available in denominations of 45, 90 and 180 dirham. Riders may recharge the card accounts in the same denominations at designated counters in the city. “Plus passengers will be eligible for a 10% discount per trip through purchasing the e-payment smart cards,” the official adds.
Sharjah is the largest city and the seat of the government of Sharjah, the third largest emirate of the United Arab Emirates.
