http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,193793,00.html?
NEW EZ-LINK CARD
Users unhappy with 'no travel deposit' feature
New features make system more convenient: LTA
February 24, 2009
REAL BALANCE: In the new ez-link card, the balance reflected on all readers is the actual stored value. TNP PICTURE: JOANNA HOR
IF you are using the new ez-link card to take the MRT, remember, 3 is the new zero.
If the balance on your card falls below $3, the turnstiles won't open for you.
The old card lets you ride the train even if the balance is zero because there is an invisible deposit of $3 on it.
Said one commuter, who gave her name only as Mrs Siew: 'I took the bus from Hougang Avenue 4 to Ang Mo Kio and it cost me 93 cents. But I couldn't use the same card for my ride on the MRT to Braddell because my balance was only $2.90.
'As a result, I had to use another card and ended up paying another 82 cents. If I had been able to use the first card, I would have got a transfer rebate, which I think would have been about 40 cents.'
Commuters like her are upset about this and there have been a chorus of complaints on the Internet.
But the Land Transport Authority (LTA) explained that the new features of the card make this system more convenient.
The card now also allows you to pay Electronic Road Pricing charges and even some retail bills.
And for these, you can use your card down to a balance of zero.
Unlike trains, on buses, the minimum balance is not fixed. It can be up to $1.67, depending on the length of the journey.
The new requirement affects only adult cards.
An ez-link spokesman told The New Paper that whatever value is left on the new card will be returned to the owner if he decides to return the card.
So, how exactly is the new system different from the old?
When you bought the old ez-link card, you had to pay an extra $3, known as a travel deposit, and this was not reflected in the card's balance.
So, when the card reader shows a balance of $0.01, there is actually $3.01 still on the card. And you can still take a bus or a train.
With the new card, the $3, which is no longer known as a travel deposit, is reflected in the card balance. That's all.
But some commuters and netizens say they feel 'cheated' that they cannot use the full balance on their new ez-link cards.
Netizen Greenapples wrote: 'If there is a reason to require a minimum stored value, then put it aside as deposit, which is the proper way things should be.
Irritating
'Why re-invent the wheel? Why is it so difficult to retain the deposit system like before?'
Another forum writer, Rukanightmare wrote: 'It's so irritating if you see money inside, yet you can't use it because it is meant to be the deposit value.'
One website, sgclub.com, asked visitors whether they thought the new rule was reasonable. Out of the 109 respondents, 72 per cent said no.
Other commuters The New Paper spoke to were also not happy.
Bank manager Tan Kok Jwee, who is in his 50s, said: 'I sometimes use the card until the value is $1 or less. So, $3 is going to be an inconvenience if you are just going to travel from, say, Bugis to Raffles Place (for a fare of less than $3).'
An LTA spokesman said the new requirement was to ensure that cardholders had enough value in their cards to exit the MRT gate, even for the longest trip.
By removing the $3 travel deposit, the full value of the new card can also be used for non-transit purposes.
The spokesman explained: 'To illustrate the use of the card for non-transit applications, an existing ez-link cardholder whose card has a total value of $7 ($4 stored value and $3 travel deposit) won't be able to buy a $6.85 McDonald's Big Mac meal even though the card's full balance is more than sufficient to cover the cost of the meal.
'This is because only $4 of the card's stored value can be used to pay for the meal, as the $3 travel deposit can only be used for travel on trains and buses.'
With the new card, commuters can use the full value to pay for non-transit transactions, for instance the McDonald's meal.
The spokesman said alert messages will pop up on the card reader when the card value is low.
'With this alert feature, commuters would, on average, be alerted at least three times (starting from $5) to top-up their cards before their card value reaches the minimal required value for travel,' she said.
Not all commuters find the new requirement an inconvenience though.
Student Yeo Ming Qiang Ivan, 25, said: 'It's a bit weird that there's an amount there but you can't use it (on trains). But I guess I'll get used to it.'
The new ez-link card was launched on 9 Jan. Since then, more than 1.6 million old cards have been replaced. The old ez-link card can no longer be used after 30 Sep.
Joanna Hor Peixin, newsroom intern
NEW EZ-LINK CARD
Users unhappy with 'no travel deposit' feature
New features make system more convenient: LTA
February 24, 2009
REAL BALANCE: In the new ez-link card, the balance reflected on all readers is the actual stored value. TNP PICTURE: JOANNA HOR
IF you are using the new ez-link card to take the MRT, remember, 3 is the new zero.
If the balance on your card falls below $3, the turnstiles won't open for you.
The old card lets you ride the train even if the balance is zero because there is an invisible deposit of $3 on it.
Said one commuter, who gave her name only as Mrs Siew: 'I took the bus from Hougang Avenue 4 to Ang Mo Kio and it cost me 93 cents. But I couldn't use the same card for my ride on the MRT to Braddell because my balance was only $2.90.
'As a result, I had to use another card and ended up paying another 82 cents. If I had been able to use the first card, I would have got a transfer rebate, which I think would have been about 40 cents.'
Commuters like her are upset about this and there have been a chorus of complaints on the Internet.
But the Land Transport Authority (LTA) explained that the new features of the card make this system more convenient.
The card now also allows you to pay Electronic Road Pricing charges and even some retail bills.
And for these, you can use your card down to a balance of zero.
Unlike trains, on buses, the minimum balance is not fixed. It can be up to $1.67, depending on the length of the journey.
The new requirement affects only adult cards.
An ez-link spokesman told The New Paper that whatever value is left on the new card will be returned to the owner if he decides to return the card.
So, how exactly is the new system different from the old?
When you bought the old ez-link card, you had to pay an extra $3, known as a travel deposit, and this was not reflected in the card's balance.
So, when the card reader shows a balance of $0.01, there is actually $3.01 still on the card. And you can still take a bus or a train.
With the new card, the $3, which is no longer known as a travel deposit, is reflected in the card balance. That's all.
But some commuters and netizens say they feel 'cheated' that they cannot use the full balance on their new ez-link cards.
Netizen Greenapples wrote: 'If there is a reason to require a minimum stored value, then put it aside as deposit, which is the proper way things should be.
Irritating
'Why re-invent the wheel? Why is it so difficult to retain the deposit system like before?'
Another forum writer, Rukanightmare wrote: 'It's so irritating if you see money inside, yet you can't use it because it is meant to be the deposit value.'
One website, sgclub.com, asked visitors whether they thought the new rule was reasonable. Out of the 109 respondents, 72 per cent said no.
Other commuters The New Paper spoke to were also not happy.
Bank manager Tan Kok Jwee, who is in his 50s, said: 'I sometimes use the card until the value is $1 or less. So, $3 is going to be an inconvenience if you are just going to travel from, say, Bugis to Raffles Place (for a fare of less than $3).'
An LTA spokesman said the new requirement was to ensure that cardholders had enough value in their cards to exit the MRT gate, even for the longest trip.
By removing the $3 travel deposit, the full value of the new card can also be used for non-transit purposes.
The spokesman explained: 'To illustrate the use of the card for non-transit applications, an existing ez-link cardholder whose card has a total value of $7 ($4 stored value and $3 travel deposit) won't be able to buy a $6.85 McDonald's Big Mac meal even though the card's full balance is more than sufficient to cover the cost of the meal.
'This is because only $4 of the card's stored value can be used to pay for the meal, as the $3 travel deposit can only be used for travel on trains and buses.'
With the new card, commuters can use the full value to pay for non-transit transactions, for instance the McDonald's meal.
The spokesman said alert messages will pop up on the card reader when the card value is low.
'With this alert feature, commuters would, on average, be alerted at least three times (starting from $5) to top-up their cards before their card value reaches the minimal required value for travel,' she said.
Not all commuters find the new requirement an inconvenience though.
Student Yeo Ming Qiang Ivan, 25, said: 'It's a bit weird that there's an amount there but you can't use it (on trains). But I guess I'll get used to it.'
The new ez-link card was launched on 9 Jan. Since then, more than 1.6 million old cards have been replaced. The old ez-link card can no longer be used after 30 Sep.
Joanna Hor Peixin, newsroom intern
will only consider the pros and cons of the new card. I believe that majority of the population will not want to or bother to think deeper, the whole meaning of changing the cards. 
