<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>So much hassle to get Giro auto top-up for new ez-link cards
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM surprised that the Giro auto top-up for the new Cepas-complaint ez-link cards became available only last Thursday, nine months after their introduction and one month before the cut-off date for replacement of the old cards.
With the new card, it is now not possible to perform Giro auto top-up at MRT stations. To activate the auto top-up, you must send in an application form that can be downloaded from EZ-Link's website. The application and approval process takes up to 21 working days. The form was not available at the TransitLink office I visited and, according to the staff, is available only online.
A quick check at EZ-Link's website reveals more unpleasant details. There is a $1.50 application fee that will be waived only if your form reaches EZ-Link before Feb 26 next year. There is a 25 cent 'convenience fee' per top-up. There is also a refundable deposit amount equivalent to the Giro top-up amount you choose for each ez-link card.
All these restrictions raise questions. Why does it take 21 working days to apply for Giro auto top-up for the new cards when it could be done instantly at any MRT ticketing machine with the old cards? Why is the process for applying for Giro auto-top so woefully manual? This is illogical when the existing system does the same, instantly and for free.
If the new ez-link cards cannot be Giro-linked at MRT ticketing machines, why did it take nine months after they were introduced for this service to be made available to the public?
Why are there charges for a previously free service? If more people use Giro auto top-up, queues at MRT ticketing machines and TransitLink counters will be reduced. And why is there a top-up fee now?
Lim Chee Kiong
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM surprised that the Giro auto top-up for the new Cepas-complaint ez-link cards became available only last Thursday, nine months after their introduction and one month before the cut-off date for replacement of the old cards.
With the new card, it is now not possible to perform Giro auto top-up at MRT stations. To activate the auto top-up, you must send in an application form that can be downloaded from EZ-Link's website. The application and approval process takes up to 21 working days. The form was not available at the TransitLink office I visited and, according to the staff, is available only online.
A quick check at EZ-Link's website reveals more unpleasant details. There is a $1.50 application fee that will be waived only if your form reaches EZ-Link before Feb 26 next year. There is a 25 cent 'convenience fee' per top-up. There is also a refundable deposit amount equivalent to the Giro top-up amount you choose for each ez-link card.
All these restrictions raise questions. Why does it take 21 working days to apply for Giro auto top-up for the new cards when it could be done instantly at any MRT ticketing machine with the old cards? Why is the process for applying for Giro auto-top so woefully manual? This is illogical when the existing system does the same, instantly and for free.
If the new ez-link cards cannot be Giro-linked at MRT ticketing machines, why did it take nine months after they were introduced for this service to be made available to the public?
Why are there charges for a previously free service? If more people use Giro auto top-up, queues at MRT ticketing machines and TransitLink counters will be reduced. And why is there a top-up fee now?
Lim Chee Kiong
