Sri Lanka has been a nation doing the opposite of what the developed world does when it comes to efficiency, convenience, productivity and cost reduction. For donkeys ages the talk of shifting to electronic tickets or the familiar e-tickets for public transportation has been in the air but to no avail as those responsible to ensure a hassle-free public transportation give into fear or favour.
The last time there was some hope that the project would get off ground was in 2024 when the former regime pledged to launch the much looked forward to e-tickets for public transport but that plan as well crumbled under the force of those who thought they would be the losers if the new system takes off depriving them the opportunity to cheat the authorities or the bus owners.
The former Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Highways said that an electronic ticketing system for public transport services, including trains, will be introduced by the end of 2024.
As usual when something new and good is introduced there is opposition that time too the good intention was shotdown by those hell bent on cheating at any cost. There was opposition from transportation workers some of whom took the issue to court and the matter ended there.
On the contrary, the Fiji bus operators gave thumbs up when the e-ticketing system was developed in the island.
The Bus Operators Association of Fiji said close to 80 per cent of buses on Viti Levu and almost all on Vanua Levu had installed the new bus e-ticketing system developed by Vodafone Fiji.
The irony in Sri Lanka is that there is a lot spoken about e-commerce and going digital but in practice the story is quite different.
E-ticketing in public transportation offers several advantages, including increased convenience, reduced costs, improved security, and enhanced data collection capabilities for transportation agencies.
LankaPay CEO Channa De Silva said the plan to go ahead with e-tickets was aborted by those who love to cut shady deals and line their pockets.
He said some conductors take a portion of the money home and that amounts to around 10 million rupees daily which together becomes three billion a year.
Going digital in the present business context is crucial to keep abreast of competitors in the global market. Sri Lankan markets are lagging behind its competitors with a meager 21 percent of budgets allocated for digital channels.
According to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, Sri Lanka was ranked 98th globally last year for mobile internet speeds with a median download speed of 21.04 Mbps, and 131st for fixed broadband, with a median download speed of 60.56 Mbps.
