In Cherkasy, the private transport company “Epitrans” has halted the operation of the automated fare payment system by disconnecting the e-ticket validators installed by the company “CTT”. This has caused serious disruptions in the city’s payment accounting system and created risks for the security and transparency of the payment system.
This is reported by Київ24
According to reports on social media, in the city council, and on the official pages of the companies, an investigation into the incident is currently underway. The company “CTT” noted that the carrier “Epitrans” unilaterally turned off the validators and installed unknown equipment on route No. 4, which violates the integrity of the automated fare accounting system.
“This disrupts the overall operation of the ACOOP (automated fare payment accounting system – ed.) in the city of Cherkasy, creates risks of fraudulent actions by the private carrier, and makes lawful cashless payments impossible,” the company stated.
Verification and Government Response
In a comment for the information portal “18000”, the head of the street infrastructure department, Serhiy Otryshko, reported that a check is currently being conducted regarding the disconnected validators on the route. According to him, no complaints from citizens regarding the actions of the carrier “Epitrans” have been received so far. A representative of the company “Epitrans”, Petro Dovhanenko, declined to comment on the situation, citing the need for an internal investigation.
Background of the Conflict with the Carrier
It is worth recalling that earlier, on February 13, the companies “Elit-Trans” and “Medit-Service” received notifications of contract termination for transportation from the Cherkasy City Council due to violations of contract terms. This decision was made on February 11 by the executive committee of the city council.
Subsequently, on February 17, during a meeting of the executive committee, it was determined which carrier would service several routes in the city. The winner of the competition was the company LLC “Epitrans”. However, petitions emerged calling for the return of the old carriers due to poor service quality and rude behavior from “Epitrans”.
The author of the electronic petition, Pavlo Milokost, complained about the poor service, failure to issue tickets, unclear schedules, and buses that are not suitable for comfortable transportation. He noted that there is a need to transition to high-level service and to bring back carriers with a better reputation.