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| ▲ Travelers wait to board buses at a bus terminal in Cheongju, 114 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 27, 2024, as a ticketing delay occurred due to the malfunctioning of the Tmoney network system. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, taken Oct. 27, 2024, shows an error message popping up on the screen of a ticketing kiosk at a bus terminal in Gangneung, 170 km east of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) bus terminals-ticketing disruption
(LEAD) Ticketing system error disrupts bus terminals across nation
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- A massive ticketing disruption occurred at bus terminals across the nation Sunday due to malfunctioning of the Tmoney ticketing system, causing inconvenience for travelers.
At 1:06 p.m., the system error occurred at the Tmoney smart ticketing network and lasted for about two hours, according to Tmoney Co., the operator of smart transportation cards. The system had recovered by around 3:10 p.m.
The malfunctioning caused halts in electronic ticketing at around 140 bus terminals across the nation, including the Seoul Express Bus Terminal in southern Seoul.
At bus terminals, officials operated an emergency ticketing system to issue tickets and receive fares in cash or via account transfer from customers.
After checking the names of passengers and other information, some terminal officials allowed them to board buses and pay for the fares after travel.
Some taxis using the Tmoney app had difficulty receiving fares and registering operations due to the disrupted service of the application.
Tmoney said a system failure at its Bupyeong center in Incheon, west of Seoul, caused the freeze in the ticketing network and it will do its best to come up with measures to compensate affected consumers.
The company said it is working to determine the exact cause of the system disruption. The transportation ministry is also looking into the case.
In October 2021, a similar ticketing disruption occurred at the Seoul bus terminal due to an error with the Tmoney network system.
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