Effectiveness of Fare Media for Enhancing Financial Sustainability of DART System

Abstract

The study assessed the fare media used in BRT Systems in the World and proposed the most effective fare media that would enhance financial sustainability of the DART System. The study used quantitative and qualitative research approaches which deployed purposive and probability sampling techniques to select respondents for data collection. Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, documentary review and observation. A total of 200 research instruments were administered to selected respondents whereby 110, 80 and 10 were distributed to commuters, staff and consultants. Among them 95 were responsive of which 40, 50 and 5 were commuters, staff and Consultants of DART System respectively. The results show that respondents assessed fare media used in BRT Systems in the World which are Cash, Paper ticket, QR Codes, Tokens ,Magnetic ,Smart card, Debit card ,Credit card ,NFC Mobile Wallet , Bluetooth In and Out, Face Recognition and Palm Vein Scanning. From the study, commuters and staff suggested the requirements including purchase of fare media on stations and outlets, self-recharge and validation on barrier gates. It was further suggested by staff that the key features should include improve security on AFCS, generation of revenue and transport data, transfer of fare balance, reduction of paper tickets, high throughput, support for multiple payments and use mobile network operators (MNOs) and Banks to recharge and validation of fare media on barrier gates in DART System. The study based on commuters and staff requirements and consultants assessment of fare media with focus in Tanzania context and proposed the use of smart card, QR Code and NFC as the first, second and third choices respectively as the effective fare media that would enhance financial sustainability of DART System. The study recommends that DART System fare media to ensure interoperability, integration and open architecture, offline performance, high throughput, accessibility and comfort to users. It was further suggested to use Mifare Desfire, Aztec barcode and contactless EMV standards, develop technical standards specifications for the fare media in order to avoid vendor lock in, use closed loop (card based), personalization, valued, flexible fare media and best practices. Also encourage self-top-ups and recharging during off peak, improve revenue security and use of differentiated fares.