ADDIS ABABA – The Public Service Transport Service (PSTS) announced that it has imported 150,000 public service transport digital IDs to launch a pilot project aimed at providing advanced services.
PSTS Information Technology Director Kalkidan Gebeyew told the Ethiopian Press Agency(EPA) that the institution would launch the pilot project in two months with the imported digital IDs that receive NFC technology for improved verification that avert any contact.
The Director said that this digital card will solve forgery problems that had been occurred while using the old paper ID.
The digital ID contains the complete personal information of the user and the software to verify the card will be installed on the buses, he said, adding that the card verification would be processed through extracting and analyzing the complete information when the customer comes closer to the bus with the digital card.
He stated that the new system also helps to identify the validation of customer IDs.
The software that reads the cards is being developed by an indigenous company called the Premium Ethiopia, he noted.
According to Kalkidan, the ID cards are processing through consecutive inspection to ensure their quality and strength to serve for more than ten years.
The digital ID will play a pivotal role in reducing paper consumption in the country and increasing service control efficiency, he added.
He also mentioned that the new ID will enable the government employees to get ATM card recharge in addition to the transportation services.
The Director said that the 150,000 cards that have been entered the country would be experimented through a pilot project while efforts are being exerted to implement the digital ID next year.
BY ESSEYE MENGISTE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2023
