Tan Kin Lian - Perspectives Phasing out of Ez Link transit cards
Many commuters who hold the Ez Link card are unhappy about they have to upgrade to the SimplyGo platform in June 2024. Under the new platform, they will not see the fare charge and card balance at the exit gantry.

According to LTA, which manages the SimplyGo platform, they is a time delay, or latency, to get the data from the backend server and the display of the data may cause a congestion at the exit gantry.

The commuters find the removal of the display to be a backward step.

I believe that LTA should be able to improve the capacity and bandwidth of the backend server to reduce the latency, so that the existing information can be display at the exit gantry.

I would suggest to LTA to take a practical approach. If the data can be received in time, which should happen most of the time, they should be displayed on the exit gantry. If there is a delay, the display can be skipped.

If the existing information is not displayed on a few occasions, it should not cause a big problem. The commuter could, for example, make it a habit to top up the card once a week, and the card balance should last for a week.

At present, two thirds of the commuters are already using the SimplyGo card, and they have adjusted to the new system, that is, without the display. The other commuters will get used to the new system after a while.

I suggest that both sides take the following respective steps:

a) LTA should display the fare and balance information, if they are received on time.
b) Commuters can make it a habit to top up the card once a week.

It is costly for LTA to manage two platforms, namely Ez Link and SimplyGo. By removing the Ez Link platform, LTA will be able to reduce their operating expenses. This will help to keep the fare low.

Tan Kin Lian

Add Comment

---