Touch 'n Go

The Touch 'n Go TnG smart card is used by Malaysian toll expressway and highway operators as the sole electronic payment system (EPS). The credit card sized smartcard made of plastic with Philips' MIFARE microchip technology embedded in it. It is the same technology used as electronic payment of Transport for London which is known as Oyster card.

The Touch 'n Go systems are designed to process up to 800 vehicles per hour to ease the queue congestion at toll plazas and if use together with SmartTAG (a non-stop electronic toll collection system), will be able to process up to 1,200 vehicles per hour.

History

Touch 'n Go was developed by Teras Teknologi Sdn Bhd and owned by Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd as is now known as Touch 'n Go Sdn Bhd. The first Touch 'n Go system was installed and use at Jalan Pahang Toll Plaza on 18 March 1997. It was then immediately extended to Jalan Cheras toll plaza and the MES-E|27 East West Link (EWL) toll plaza on 15 April 1997. Touch 'N Go toll payment system fully implemented throughout the 848km MES-E|1 MES-E|2 North-South Expressway (NSE) on 15 November 1998. This was made possible when the service was extended to the northern sections of the highway from Jelapang to Jitra. As such the smart card can be used to pay toll from Kempas in Johor right up to Jitra in Kedah, making it one of the world's longest single stretch of expressway electronic toll payment systems. The official launch was done at the Sungai Dua toll plaza and officiated by Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd then chairman, Datuk Dr Ramli Mohamad.

The Touch 'n Go system was implemented in Cityliner Sdn Bhd, one of stage bus service in Klang Valley somewhere in 2000*. Touch 'n Go card users enjoyed discount fare of 10% when its was first introduced. Due to needs to further consolidate company operations and meeting current customer demands at that time as well as operational restructuring exercise, card users have to pay full fare after the new announcement made on 13th November 2003. However the Touch 'n Go card reader system in the stage bus was not well maintained by the bus operator. Card readers often malfunction and no further updated information to replace/upgrading afterward were requested. Another subsidiary of Park May Berhad, City Profile Sdn Bhd, a feeder bus service (service known as Putraline) served for PUTRA LRT was also introduced and the system was successfully implemented until the Rapid KL bus revamp program took place.

Touch 'n Go facility was also embedded in Buy N Fly loyalty card rewards program for Malaysia Airlines retail arm, Golden Boutiques Sdn Bhd's which was launched in December 1999. The hybrid cards have multi function on rewards airpoint, MEPS Cash & Touch 'n Go. However on July 16, 2002, Malaysia Airlines announced that “Buy N Fly” Programme had ceased operations and consolidated its loyalty rewards into one entity; Malaysia Airlines Enrich Frequent Flyer Programme. Buy N Fly cards are no longer issued but active hybrid card users are still able to use them to perform transactions.

Card categories

The cards can be categorize into 4 types:

Prepaid card

*Standard cardA standard Touch 'n Go cards fare structure currently available for adult fare for CTS and standard class vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels (Class 1) excluding taxis for toll fare.

Postpaid cards

*Fleet Xs cardIt mainly purposed for toll fare payment. The details of company name, vehicle registration number and vehicle class was printed on the card. Credit term of 15 days given for post payment and fleet operators are able to monitor toll record/vehicle movement at highways via e-statement (itemised statement) after 24 to 48 hours from the time of transaction.

*Biz Xs cardIt is the same as standard card mainly purposed for corporate users.

Auto-reload card

*Zing CardThe Touch 'n Go Zing is a companion card "(works as standard card)" that is linked to Visa, MasterCard or American Express issued by participating banks in Malaysia. Each time the card balance falls below RM50, it will trigger the auto-reload mechanism to reload RM100 into the card. The amount will be charged to the credit card plus RM2 as auto-reload fee for each time reload. Zing card auto-reload facility is currently offered by: :*Maybank:*Hong Leong Bank:*EON Bank:*Affin Bank:*MBF Cards:*AEON Credit Service

Multi-purpose card

*MyKad"Main article:" MyKad A value added application for Malaysian identity card as e-purse.

Purchase and reload

A standard card can be purchased at the price of RM20. It consists of RM10 deposit value and RM10 usage amount. The cards may be reloaded from 10 denominations ranging from RM10, RM20, RM50, RM100, RM150, RM200, RM250, RM300, RM400 and RM500. The minimum reload value for a credit card issued in Malaysia is RM100.

Cash counters

*Touch 'n Go Hub at KL Sentral & Faber Tower
*Toll Plaza Office: e.g Ayer Hitam, Johor & Ayer Keroh, Malacca
*RapidKL Rail major stations
*KTM Komuter major stations
*Reload Agents
**Petronas Kedai Mesra
**Kiosk
**Mini Mart
**Mobile Phone Shops

Cash drive-through counters

*Faber Tower
*Toll Plaza with sign "LORONG TAMBAH NILAI & TnG"

Credit card counters

*Touch 'n Go Hub at KL Sentral & Faber Tower
*Toll Plaza Office

Auto Teller Machines

*Maybank flagicon|Malaysia Malaysia & flagicon|Singapore Singapore
*CIMB Bank
*RHB Bank
*Bank Muamalat
*AmBank CDM

Card usage

Touch 'n Go card is not only for toll fare but also parking services, public transport, theme park and cashless payment at retail outlets.Touch 'n Go reader touch signs

Toll fare

"Main article:" Malaysian Expressway System

Touch 'n Go can be used in entire highways stretches in Malaysia with the familiar TnG & SmartTAG sign marked on the road. Two systems were introduced on toll fare collection instead of manual ticket. Due to highways with numerous junctions or intersections serving short distance trips, most of Malaysia's highways use open system toll collection.

Toll fare collection on open system

Card users only have to touch at the reader at TnG lanes counter or drive thru TAG lanes at certain toll plazas. Toll fares charged are fixed regardless the distance travelled.The highways that using open system on toll collection are

Toll expressways

:*MES-E|3 Second Link Expressway :*MES-E|5 Shah Alam Expressway (SAE):*MES-E|7 Cheras-Kajang Expressway (CKE):*MES-E|8 Karak Expressway:*MES-E|9 Sungai Besi Expressway (SBE):*MES-E|10 New Pantai Expressway (NPE):*MES-E|11 Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP):*MES-E|12 Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKE):*MES-E|15 Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE):*MES-E|20 Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway (KPE):*MES-E|22 Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE):*MES-E|23 Sprint Expressway:*MES-E|30 New North Klang Straits Bypass (NKSB):*MES-E|35 Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE):*MES-E|36 Penang Bridge:*MES-E|37 Salak Expressway (East-West Link (EWL)) and Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Expressway:*MES-E|38 SMART Tunnel

Toll highways

*JKR|2 Federal Highway (FHR2) (Batu Tiga-Sungai Rasau)
*JKR|20 North Klang Straits Bypass (NKSB)

Toll fare collection on closed system

Card users "touch in" before entering the expressway at respective toll plazas and "touch out" at the exit toll plaza. Vehicle with card have to drive thru TnG lanes and TAG lanes for SmartTAG users. Toll fares are charged based on the distance between the entry plaza and the exit plaza. Card users have to make sure the amount balance should more than RM2 before "touch in", otherwise the system will not function. If card balance less than the amount of toll fare, exit payment balance after deducted card balance should be pay by cash at the "LORONG TUNAI" lanes. Highways for closed system include::*MES-E|1 MES-E|2 North-South Expressway (NSE):*MES-E|6 North-South Expressway Central Link (ECL):*MES-E|8 East Coast Expressway (ECE)

martTAG

"Main article:" SmartTAG An extension of Touch 'n Go is SmartTAG or TAG on board unit, which allows users to insert the card into a reader device installed in the vehicle for fully automatic/non-stop payment at toll plazas. Payment is made automatically as the toll charge is deducted from the value stored in the Touch 'n Go card.

Public Transportation

The cards can be use as an integrated ticket in Kuala Lumpur public transport system. Until to date, only 3 companies had implemented into their fare collection system.

*RapidKL
**RapidKL RAIL
**RapidKL BUS
*KTM Komuter
*KL Monorail

A value deduction method (capping system) was developed for saving on RapidKL fare who pay using TnG card. Maximum fare will be deduct through the card of RM7 daily usage for Rail + Bus and RM4 daily usage for Bus.

Ticketless parkings

Touch 'n Go can also be used in selected parkings:

Kuala Lumpur area::* Bangsar Shopping Centre:* Sg. Wang Plaza:* Pantai Medical Centre:* Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre:* Pusat Bandar Damansara:* Hospital Pakar Damansara:* Dataran Palma, Ampang:* Megan Avenue I & II, Ampang:* The Mines Shopping Fair, Balakong

Petaling Jaya area::* 1-Utama Shopping Centre:* Atria Shopping Centre:* Kelana Square:* Kelana Parkview:* Armada Hotel:* Selangor Tuff Club:* Assunta Hospital:* Phileo Damansara I & II:* Damansara Intan:* Jaya 33----Coming soon:* Jaya One-----Coming soon

Subang Jaya area::* The Summit, USJ:* Taipan, USJ:* Sunway Pyramid:* Sunway Hotel/Tower/Resort:* Subang Parade----Coming Back again...

Others:* Century Square, Cyberjaya:* KLIA:* LCCT

Admission fees

Currently only one theme park has Touch 'n Go facility as an alternative in paying its admission fees:
* [http://www.bukitmerahresort.com.my Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort]

Retail Outlets

*Fast Foods restaurants*
**A&W*
**Burger King*
**Dunkin Donuts*
*Convenience stores*
**7-Eleven*
**Caltex Star Mart*
*Hypermarkets*
**Carrefour
*Cinemas*
**Cathay Cineleisure*

(*)selected location only. Please refer to website for update.

Future implementation

*Express Rail Link:The fare-card readers remain idle because the Express Rail Link (ERL) and Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd are still in dispute over the commission rate. Sources said Rangkaian Segar wants 2.5%, while the ERL were prepared to pay less than 2%Facts|date=July 2007. This disagreement, they added, had resulted in the operators holding back implementation of the system. The rail under this operator is based on two systems::*KL-RTS-KEL:*KL-RTS-KTL

Criticisms

*Add Value/Reload Charge :Free reload only available from manual transaction over the counter of Touch 'n Go Hub, Highway Operation Office & "Lorong Tambah Nilai" lanes, major stations of Rapid KL & KTM Komuter. Reload over the ATM and reload agents will incur an additional fee of RM0.50 and RM1.00 at Cash Deposit machine. RM2.00 will be charged for Zingcard autoreload for every RM100.

*Cheque Refund :Refund for card balance and deposit will be paid by cheque in one month processing and send by post by Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd.

*No Usage Discount :Concessionary users are charged between 2.0 - 2.5 percent of the profit for using the system. No discount is given but instead card users may have to pay the commission fee. Car park operators usually pass on the Touch 'n Go commission fee onto card users, resulting in users paying 10% more.

*Effectiveness Argued :Although the system was introduced in the last 10 years, with the support of the Government (particularly by incorporation the system into MyKad), card and concessionary users still prefer to use cash.

:However to date, Touch 'n Go's 10 years research & development has resulted to 4 millions of card users (from 20 million of population) and use by all 19 toll concession companies in operation in Malaysia.

:According to Bank Negara report on Payment System Act 2003; 39% of non-cash transaction in Malaysia is of Touch 'n Go. Non-cash payment via Touch 'n Go (and SmartTAG) accounted to 35% of all toll payments nationwide and 50% at Klang Valley.

*E-Statement :All transaction records within 3 days from the date cannot be viewed through the e-Statement. Fax transactions recorded by phone are however available within 24 hours and mostly depended on data server system.

*Limited CTS Fare Structure:Fare structure only applicable for adult. The cards is not available for senior citizen, children, school uniform & handicapped.

Trivia

*The dormant Touch n' Go card (no transactions in 1 year), will be deactivated and refunded. A new card will have to be purchased.
*Use your Touch n' Go at least once every 6 months.
* [http://www.touchngo.com.my/MediaCentre_FF.html Touch 'n Go Achievement in 10 years development]
* [http://www.touchngo.com.my/AboutUs_CompBG.html Company background]

References

*SmartTAG
*Malaysian expressway system
*MyKad
*Octopus card
*Oyster card
*Smartcard

External links

Company website

* [http://www.touchngo.com.my/ Touch 'n Go official website]
* [http://www.terasworld.com/ Teras Teknologi Sdn Bhd]

Zing card website

* [http://www.hlb.com.my/zing/zingdex.html Hong Leong Bank]
* [http://www.maybank2u.com.my/consumer/online_cards/zing_about.shtml Maybank]
* [http://www.mbfcards.net/_staging3/home.cfm?IncFile=content.cfm&PrimeID=27&ParentID=27&SecID=255 MBF Cards]
* [http://www.affinbank.com.my/ccards/benefit.htm Affin Bank]

ATM reload website

*Maybank flagicon|Malaysia [http://www.maybank2u.com.my/maybank_group/products_services/e-channels/touchngo.shtml Malaysia] & flagicon|Singapore [http://info.maybank2u.com.sg/corporate_info/media_release/20031107.htm Singapore]
* [http://www.cimbbank.com.my Bumiputra Commerce Bank]
* [http://www.rhbbank.com.my/ATM/tngoreload.shtm RHB Bank]
* [http://www.muamalat.com.my/index.php?pg=consumer_electronic_banking&ac=8 Bank Muamalat]
* [http://www.ambank.com.my/personal/atmsbranches/reloadtouchngobranches.asp AmBank]