i extracted this article from the straits times forum.
I refer to the press reports about the bugs that plague the Ez-link
system resulting in wrong fares for commuters.
The Land Transport Authority's reply is that 'as with all system
software, we recognise that there will instances whereby incorrect
fares are deducted due to occasional system faults.'
The assertion is that it is acceptable for system software to fail
sometimes. I have some difficulty accepting this reasoning.
With seven million Ez-link cards in circulation and four million
transactions daily, Ez-link can be compared to a bank computer
system like Nets.
Imagine a bank saying to its customers: "You have a million dollars
but occasionally you may have nothing in your bank account due to
system faults."
Ez-link undoubtedly is a critical system and the right approach for
LTA should be one which aims at zero defect.
Let's put it in another way. Instead of wrong fare deductions at
the commuter's expense, if the Ez-link system fails to deduct
fares, would the LTA say the system is reliable? Would the bus
companies take this explanation lying down?
The LTA likes to fall back on its excuse of 'system faults'. The
question is, what is the exact nature of such system faults?
I hope the LTA can provide a better picture to the public on how
the system actually works.
Just because there are technicalities involved does not mean that
the system and its faults cannot be logically explained.
For instance, how does the Ez-link reader on the bus determine the
fare stage? If there is global positioning system and RFID
involved, how are they used?
How was it possible for a commuter to be charged five times the
actual fare?
Commuters deserve a better explanation than just short generalised
vague statements from the LTA.
Chia Hern Keng
