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By Cheryl Lim
MORE than 40 per cent of the original ez-link cards issued have not been exchanged for new cards, meant for more purposes than just paying public-transport fees.
Of the eight million ez-link cards slated to be replaced by the Contactless e-Purse Application Standard (Cepas)-compliant cards, more than 3.3 million had not been exchanged even after the deadline, extended by a week, passed last Wednesday.
In future, the new cards can be used to pay Electronic Road Pricing fees, parking charges and fines for overdue loans from the National Library Board.
It can also be used to make purchases, at retail shops such as 7-Eleven outlets.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) declined to comment on the possible reasons for such a large number of cards remaining unreplaced.
But the bulk of these cards are likely to have been cards that were not in active use.
By mid-September, 92 per cent of public-transport rides were already being made using the new Cepas-compliant card, the LTA said.
At that time, there were some 200,000 old cards still being used actively on public transport.
More than 4.6 million original cards had been replaced, at no charge, in an exercise that lasted from Jan 9 to Oct 7 this year, said an LTA spokesman.
The exercise was meant to have ended on Sept 30, but was extended for a week. During this last week, 153,000 cards were replaced. From now, those who wish to get a Cepas-compliant card will have to pay $15.
my paper found several commuters who had reasons not to replace their cards.
Some have hung on to their old cards because they are collectors' items and hold sentimental value.
Freelance writer Annie Tan, 28, bought a Cepas-compliant card instead of trading in her old one, which was a Valentine's Day collectible that she got as a gift.
She said: "It was a Precious Moments ez-link card from my good friend, and I'm retaining it as a keepsake."
Others do not see the need to get new cards, as they drive and do not use public transport often.
One of them, Mr Xu Youfeng, 26, a civil servant, said: "I bought an ez-link card when my car was undergoing routine servicing. Since I drive, I hardly use the card, so I did not bother to change it."
Ms Sally Koh, 28, a researcher, who stopped taking public transport after she bought a car two months ago, said: "I think a lot of these unchanged cards belong to commuters-turned-drivers. Why would I bother changing mine now that I drive?"
cheryll@sph.com.sg
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