The Barbados Transport Board’s Travel Smart tickets designed to help commuters save money have been hit by a scam.
According to Acting General Manager of the Transport Board Lynda Holder there has been a number of counterfeit Travel Smart tickets in the public domain, causing the Board to urge commuters to be vigilant.
“We are aware that there have been forged tickets in circulation and we wish to advise persons that valid Travel Smart tickets can only be purchased from official Transport Board locations. Our drivers will be on the lookout for the fraudulent tickets and these will not be honored when presented,” Holder said.
“I can’t put a quantum to the problem right now, it has just been brought to my attention this weekend. So when more than one person brought it to our attention, we thought we needed to address it publicly. For persons to present tickets that they know are fraudulent is an unlawful act and we are really asking them to desist from doing that,” she added.
Holder reminded the public that authentic Travel Smart Tickets are laminated and can be easily identified by their watermarked logo and the embossed seal of the Transport Board.
The smart tickets came on stream to coincide with the bus fare increase on April 15 when fares rose from $2 to $3.50 and were introduced as the first step in making transport more affordable for Barbadians and bringing the Transport Board up to international standards of public transportation. The cards are sold in four denominations to allow the bearer options for trips in the amounts of ten, 14, 20 and 28, to have as much as 15 per cent discounts.
The acting head told Barbados TODAY that Barbadians have been purchasing the tickets since the new system was launched.
“Persons understand and embrace the concept because it is a saving. When you purchase the travel tickets you will actually end up paying $3 in bus fare as opposed to just $3.50, and that is a saving,” Holder said.
