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Categories: Transportation News
Frank M. misses the point of my comment.
JR doesn’t make customized Suica cards.
That’s something that individuals decide to do on their own. The same thing goes for Twitter user Mark Harrison with the nifty TAP card shown above.
I have my doubts about the need to keep buying new TAP cards when the old ones shouldn’t be worn out, but there is no connection between customizing TAP cards and buying new ones.
“If the transit companies themselves can’t do it, why not?”
Likely because Metro has no concept of fiscal responsibility and can’t figure out the simple concept of making TAP cards a refundable deposit instead that could be recycled back into the system like pretty much every other transit agency in the world.
$2 fee = TAP is discarded every three years = contributes to waste = Metro needs to buy new TAP cards from Cubic = keeps losing money = comes back crying to taxpayers
500 yen deposit = Suica can be recycled back into the system = less waste = JR saves money = uses savings to make collectible Suica which is another form of revenue stream
I’ve seen pictures of people creating personalized RFID smart cards such as anime-themed Suica (it doesn’t seem to hurt the chip inside to mess around with the cover). If the transit companies themselves can’t do it, why not?
It was only a matter of time before somebody took personal ownership of a TAP card. Good job!