SMS tickets to stop bus robberies
Örebro is to be the first town in Sweden to introduce bus tickets via SMS. Under the new system customers will receive an SMS code that tells them how long the ticket is valid.
An SMS ticket will cost the same as a regular ticket. A similar system is already in operation in Finland and there are also plans to implement it in parts of western Sweden.
The technological advances have partly been sparked by a rise in robberies and threats to bus drivers. The Örebro bus network had already stopped taking cash in the evening and passengers are instead required to prebook tickets.
According to Dagens Nyheter, a bus robbery in the Ropsten area of Stockholm on Sunday proved the last straw for many bus drivers after a spring and summer marred by threats and theft.
On Tuesday, bus drivers in the Stockholm region protested by refusing to handle cash resulting in losses of 1 million kronor for Stockholm Transport (SL).
Paul O'Mahony
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An SMS ticket will cost the same as a regular ticket. A similar system is already in operation in Finland and there are also plans to implement it in parts of western Sweden.
The technological advances have partly been sparked by a rise in robberies and threats to bus drivers. The Örebro bus network had already stopped taking cash in the evening and passengers are instead required to prebook tickets.
According to Dagens Nyheter, a bus robbery in the Ropsten area of Stockholm on Sunday proved the last straw for many bus drivers after a spring and summer marred by threats and theft.
On Tuesday, bus drivers in the Stockholm region protested by refusing to handle cash resulting in losses of 1 million kronor for Stockholm Transport (SL).
Paul O'Mahony
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