A route bus operator in Kumamoto Prefecture has announced a plan to discontinue payments using national transportation ICs earlier than originally planned.

Regarding fare payment methods, the prefecture’s five route bus companies initially announced plans to abolish payment using national transportation ICs in mid-December of this year, citing the high cost of updating equipment. .

The announcement was made today (September 30th) amidst some doubts about the abolition.

Kyushu Sanko Bus Manager Takuya Imakama“National transportation IC cards will be available until November 15th due to terminal replacement.”

It has been announced that the closure of all transportation ICs nationwide will be moved forward by about one month from the original plan.

The reason for this is touch payments using credit cards, which are scheduled to be introduced in early March next year.

Bus operators say it will cost about 670 million yen to install the compatible equipment, of which one-third is expected to be subsidized by the government.

However, in order to receive the subsidy, it is necessary to complete the installation of the equipment by the end of February next year, so the preparation period was taken into consideration.

As a result, from November 16th until early March next year, payments will only be made in cash or with the Kumamon IC card, a transportation IC card available only within the prefecture.

20s“Have you heard of (Kumamon IC)?”
20s“It’s a hassle to make, and it’s a hassle to charge. (From now on), cash is the only option.”

Kumamon IC card user 80s“It’s convenient. You can just ride without having to carry cash.”

There is only one and a half months left until the national transportation ICs for route buses are abolished.