STUDENTS from 14 schools in Cakaudrove will use cards instead of bus fare vouchers after Telecom Fiji Limited completed the installation of its e-ticketing consoles on 30 buses in the area this week.
Maria Bereso, the project manager of TransTel, the company facilitating this electronic system, said the initial phase of the roll out in the north would have the system installed on the Vishnu Holdings Limited buses in Savusavu.
"With the new system, students don't have to worry about properly maintaining their paper vouchers as the card is accessible and easy to use," Ms Bereso said.
"They don't have to rely on their teachers anymore for their vouchers because they have their own bus passes."
She said TFL, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, visited the nine education districts and the schools that they served throughout the country to conduct workshops and awareness with heads of schools, bus fare advocates, and school managers on the system.
"Demonstrations on how the system will work has been carried out and TFL has discussed thoroughly the housekeeping issues that is part and parcel of the project for instance, how to maintain a TFL bus pass and what to do if you lose your TFL bus bass to name a few," she said.
"The same awareness sessions was organised for bus operators and bus drivers. Everyone has a role to play in the project and it's vital to the success of the implementation of this initiative that drivers are comfortable with the system and how to operate it while driving on our roads."
Vishnu Holdings Limited operations manager Ambika Nand said they were honoured to be chosen as the first company in the north to have their buses installed with the system.
"The problem of not allowing students in the bus as a result of presenting wet vouchers will now be solved," he said.