A cashless payment platform for minibus taxis

Date
2023-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African Taxi Recapitalisation Program determined that electronic/cashless fare collection systems must be installed in every minibus taxi. However, the past and present initiatives to implement cashless fare collection systems have been focused on using Euro Master Visa (EMV) cards. The problem with these cards is that they exclude part of the population which has been historically marginalised and excluded by financial i nstitutions, m ainly b anks. T his h as h ighlighted t he n eed f or a more inclusive cashless fare collection system in the minibus taxi industry. The cashless fare collection system is also meant to gather data on passenger movement for infrastructure and planning purposes. It was determined that mobile phones have enjoyed a significant p enetration rate into the African and South African population and, as such, mobile money is the best financial technology, particularly for the historically marginalised and financially excluded populations. It was assumed that minibus taxi passengers have Bluetooth devices switched on when they travel. It was determined that social media applications, particularly WhatsApp and Telegram, have become the most used platforms to communicate. Therefore, a decision was made to implement a cashless fare collection system in the form of a Telegram Chatbot: the system would add passenger detection and tracking using Bluetooth. The system for passenger detection and tracking using Bluetooth was designed, implemented, and tested on a couple of local minibus taxi trips. The data gathered from the local trips was analysed to determine the reliability of using Bluetooth for passenger detection and tracking. Generally, Bluetooth use in minibus taxi passengers was neither available nor reliable enough to be used for passenger tracking and identification. The cashless fare collection system was developed without the Bluetooth passenger tracking and identification subsystem.
AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse Taxi-herkapitaliseringsprogram het bepaal dat elektroniese/ kontantlose tariefinvordering-stelsels i n e lke minibustaxi g eïnstalleer moet w ord. I n die verlede het inisiatiewe gefokus op die gebruik van Euro Master Visa (EMV)-kaarte. Die probleem met hierdie kaarte is dat hulle egter ’n deel van die bevolking uitsluit wat histories gemarginaliseer en uitgesluit was deur finansiële i nstansies s oos b anke. Dit het tot die behoefte gelei vir ’n meer inklusiewe kontantlose tariefinvordering-stelsel in die minibustaxibedryf. Die kontantlose tariefversameling-stelsel is ook bedoel om data oor die beweging van passasiers in te samel vir infrastruktuur en beplanning doeleindes. Dit was vasgestel dat selfone ’n aansienlike penetrasiekoers het in die Afrika-, en Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking, selfoon geld is dus die beste finansiële t egnologie veral vir historiese gemarginaliseerdes en finansieel uitgesluite b evolkings. Dit was aangeneem dat minibustaxi passasiers Bluetooth toestelle het wat aangeskakel is wanneer hulle reis. Daar was vasgestel dat WhatsApp en Telegram die mees gebruikte platforms geword het om te kommunikeer. ’n Besluit was daarom geneem om ’n kontantlose tariefinvordering-stelsel t e implementeer i n d ie vorm van ’ n Telegram Chatbot, waar die stelsel passasieropsporing doen met hulp van Bluetooth. Die stelsel vir passasiersopsporing is ontwerp, geïmplementeer, en getoets deur gebruik te maak van Bluetooth op ’n paar plaaslike minibus-taxiritte. Die data wat ingesamel van die plaaslike reise en is ontleed om die betroubaarheid van Bluetooth stelsel te bepaal ten opsigte van passasiersopsporing. Bluetooth was oor die algemeen nie beskikbaar of betroubaar genoeg in die minibus taxi’s om om vir passasiersopsporing en identifikasie g ebruik t e maak n ie. Die k ontantlose t ariefinvordering-stelsel is sonder die Bluetooth passasiersopsporing en identifikasie substelsel ontwikkel.
Description
Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.
Keywords
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