A local bus company expressed its disappointment when its honesty system for passengers did not work because over 30 percent of them did not pay their fares.
Green Frog Hybrid Bus Company, the sole bus company in the Philippines that uses environmental-friendly hybrid buses, shared that they will no longer implement the system starting March 20, 2019.
While there were those saddened by the news, some commented that they were not surprised at the honesty system’s failure.
“Expected na ‘yan. Sa jeep nga lakas maka-123 ng iba,” Reddit user Shiun-e wrote.
“Eh ‘yung honesty store nga na nasa loob pa mismo ng istasyon ng pulis hindi nag-work, ‘yan pa kaya?” user squaredromeo said.
The company implemented the honesty system on March 11, 2019 wherein passengers were expected to pay their fares to the driver without a conductor around.
Normally, a conductor would collect fares from passengers and hand out tickets to ensure that they have paid for the ride.
Honesty system in the country
It is not the first time that an honesty system was scrapped due to its ineffectiveness.
The Manila Police District (MPD) in January 2019 closed down its honesty store six months after it was opened due to “financial issues” in relation to dishonest buyers.
Ester Tan, general manager of the MPD Finest Brotherhood Cooperative, cited that the store lost an average of P500 to P1,000 a month or a total of more than P20,000 since the start of its operation.
“It is a tough proposition. Honesty store is not applicable in MPD or for that matter anywhere other than Batanes,” she said.
In Batanes, a coffee shop exists that practices honesty system where customers would only leave their payments in jars whenever they would purchase food and beverages. It has been operating since 1995.
