Paper and circular lead cuttings being used in place of money in e-ticketing machines rendering them in-operational – Vodafone

Fijians are being negatively affected as e-ticketing machines at the Suva Bus Stand and others around Fiji are currently not working, and Vodafone Fiji is raising concern the machines are constantly damaged through vandalism and tampering.

Vodafone CEO Ronald Prasad says the machines get damaged when people try to trick the system and insert paper in place of notes or circular lead cuttings in the place of coins, causing damage and rendering the machines unable to serve Fijians who need to top-up their bus cards.

Prasad says they have also found chewing gum pushed into the machine slots and people physically damaging the machine with force.

He is urging Fijians to be more responsible as damaging the machines causes problems for the entire Fijian community, including children, the elderly and the disabled who want to top-up their cards.

Vodafone says they are currently waiting for parts to arrive as it has been delayed due to shipping disruptions caused by COVID-19 which is why many of the vandalized e-ticketing machines are currently not operational.

He adds Fijians can top-up at any EFTPOS machine via Vodafone's agents, and many other operational e-ticketing machines around the country or use Mpaisa to top-up at any time as well.