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eMoney News

Doha public to use contactless smart cards for travel
28 Oct 2009

The Doha public will soon be able to use pre-paid contactless smart cards when travelling on buses in the Qatari city.

Once a pilot scheme has been completed and approval from authorities has been granted, the system will be used to make public transport more convenient, reports the Peninsula Qatar.

Local transportation company Mowasalat is the firm looking to implement the technology and has called on the services of Turkish IT solutions provider Kentkart to help in the matter.

Jehad Abid, Head of IT Operations at Mowasalat, said: "We have launched a pilot project jointly with Kentkart to test the efficiency of these services in the public transport system."

Disposable cards will be made available on a short-term basis, while there are also plans to introduce technology that allows bank cards to be accepted when paying for bus travel.

In the UK, the London Oyster card scheme has proved successful in recent years as it reduces queues at ticket machines and makes moving from one place to another more convenient.

Meanwhile in Bolton, Greater Manchester, the local council - with the help of eMoney network sQuidcard - has introduced the first ever multi-purse ITSO-enabled smart card, which allows people to pay for bus travel and other services with the same card.