An unusual technical issue surprised around 370 public transportation passengers in Turku last week when they were overcharged for tickets they bought on city buses.
Around 90 passengers using onboard contactless payment units were charged more than 30 euros for tickets that cost 3.15 euros. Other customers were also overcharged by smaller amounts.
However, according to Topias Pihlava, development manager at regional public transport company Föli, the largest erroneous charge amounted to 3,000 euros.
"This problem was exceptional. The [payment] system has otherwise been reliable and worked well. We aim to investigate the problem very thoroughly, because it was so exceptional," Pihlava told Svenska Yle, the public broadcaster's Swedish-language news unit.
According to the transport authority, the overcharges started last Wednesday (5 February) and the problem continued until the following morning.
The contactless payment system excessively charged or made reserves on bank cards of approximately 370 passengers.
System error
The cause of the problem was a system error, according to Pihlava.
"Of course, customers called us and asked why we charged them too much," he noted.
Over the past week, Föli has cancelled and repaid the overcharges, according to the development chief.
"The last charges were paid back on Tuesday and they should appear in customers' accounts within a few days," Pihlava said.
Föli's buses use contactless payment units made by German firm Init.
"We are thoroughly reviewing this with the service provider to find out what happened. After that, we will take the necessary step to ensure that this does not happen again," Pihlava said.
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