Transport cards rolled out in Al Ain

abu dhabi — In a bid to encourage the use of public transport, the department of transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has announced the launching of ‘Hafilat’ smart cards in Al Ain.

The automated payment system will come into effect starting today. The machines were installed in various locations like Al Ain International Airport, Al Ain Mall, main bus stations, Al Jimi Mall and Tawam Hospital.

The system includes plastic cards for permanent use and paper tickets for temporary use. The smart cards are categorised into anonymous cards and personalised cards that contain information about the passenger stored in the card chip and the DoT customer database. The personalised cards consist of students cards, senior citizens cards for people with determination.

This smart card or ticket deducts the fare of the bus trip directly from the cash value stored in the T-Purse. The fare is calculated automatically based on the distance of the passenger’s journey from the moment he or she boarded the bus until his or her descent. The launch of this smart payment system will facilitate the bus boarding and descent process for passengers.

Eleven Ticket Vending Machines, which enable users to issue and recharge tickets have been installed along with nine Banknote Reloaded and two Ticket Office Machines to sell tickets in the main bus stations.

Saeed Al Hameli, head of buses and water ferries team, said: “The payment cards have the features of adding a certain balance and recharging it, in addition to the possibility of adding other services such as the weekly and monthly passes. In addition, users can add their personal information and be eligible to special offers. Cards can be recharged by cash or credit cards using the different machines available,” added Al Hameli.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com

The payment cards have features of adding a certain balance and recharging it.” Saeed Al Hameli, official, DoT