You can soon pay metro fare through mobile

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is showcasing at Gitex Technology Week 2012, now underway at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the e-payment of fares of public transport such as the metro, public buses and the water bus, through some compatible smart phones to be named with the launch of the service at the beginning of next year.

Mohammed Al Mudharreb, Director of RTA Unified Fare Collection Card, said: “Co-operation is in hand with telecom providers, Etisalat and du, to provide dedicated sim cards compatible with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, enabling holders of such compatible smart-phones to avail the service through contactless swiping of their smart-phones over tickets validation machines at the access gates of mass transit system.

“The new NFC sim card will be enabled to emulate the functionality of silver Nol cards and offer users the same topping-up facility. Public transport commuters will then be able to move across the entry gates without bothering to carry additional cards. Through their mobile smart-phones, commuters will be able to top up their balances online either through the Nol portal (www.nol.ae), ticket selling offices in any metro or bus station or ATMs of some banks participating in the service, including Emirates NBD,” said Al Mudharreb.
 

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