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Smart card not 'smart' enough [Nashik] [Times of India]
[January 14, 2014]

Smart card not 'smart' enough [Nashik] [Times of India]


(Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NASHIK: While the MSRTC has launched the smart card facility in the city to fortify itself against the misuse and tampering of manual passes by commuters, it is yet to build a mechanism to deal with the issue of passengers losing their cards. Even though the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology-based smart cards launched by the MSRTC are tamper proof - preventing misuse or manipulation of season tickets by frequent travellers - the passengers will have no choice but to pay the balance and then be reissued the new card. The system of reissuing new season tickets in case of misplacing or losing the old one/smart card has still not been discontinued. If a smart card is lost anytime after being issued to the passenger, the passenger will get the new card reissued only after paying of the balance period of the journey. "There is no system to lock the lost card and reissue a new one with the balance in the account," said Rakesh Sonar, father of Shantanu Sonar, a class XI student and resident of Abhiyantanagar, behind CIDCO, who travels to Pethe Vidyalaya. "With the old system, it was not possible to locate records of passes issued in case they got misplaced or stolen. But now, since the data has bee computerized, it should be easy for the MSRTC to check the records and reissue a new card after forwarding the remaining balance from the old card," Sonar said. The MSRTC officials said the card beneficiary would also be issued a separate slip of payment for the card, along with its validity, to ensure that in cases where swipe machines failed, the slips could bail the pass-holders out of the situation. "However, the slip issued along with the smart card will not guarantee a journey for the pass-holder in case of lost card. Since the machine reflects all records of the card holder, including his identity card number, a mismatch of details will render the card invalid," the official added. He further said the inputs and suggestions of the passengers will be sent to the central office, which takes decisions on various issues.



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