Phonecard-operated payphones in buses in Brazil

ORCID 0000-0002-8394-6808 Abstract Payphones were installed in public buses in Brazil. These payphones worked with same phonecards used in tradicional payphones or with specific phonecards produced by telecommunication companies in collaboration with bus transport companies. The objectives of this study were to identify the buses installed with payphones in Brazil, chronology, payphone system, and phonecard type (whether tradicional or specific). The specific phonecards were described. A mobile phone-type payphone working with tradicional phonecards, developed by Telecomunicações da Paraíba S.A. (TELPA; João Pessoa, Paraíba State, Brazil) and installed in 1994 on Rogetur Transporte e Turismo Ltda. transport company buses, is the first consolidate case of a payphone used in a bus in Brazil. Specific phonecards developed by Globalstar, Inc. (Covington, Louisiana, United States of America) in 2000 were used in payphones installed on Viação Itapemirim S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. transport company buses.


Introduction
Phonecards are items collected as a hobby by several people around the world (TAVARES, SILITONGA, 2021a; TAVARES, 2021). Installation of payphones on buses in Brazil was made to benefit passengers, and as a consequence of the reduction in the use of traditional payphones, high maintenance cost, technology stagnation, in addition to competition between public transport companies.

Payphones on Rogetur Transporte e Turismo Ltda. transport company buses
The bus line 5115-Cabedelo town, of the transport company Rogetur Transporte e Turismo Ltda. (João Pessoa, Paraíba State, Brazil), initiated the use as an experimental trial for 40 days of the first mobile phone-type payphone using the tradicional inductive phonecards in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil in April 1994 ( Figures 1A-1B). This trial was carried out by the telecommunications company Telecomunicações da Paraíba S.A. (TELPA; João Pessoa, Paraíba State, Brazil) as part of a study to identify a payphone system to be implemented further to other bus companies in Paraíba State (ÔNIBUS URBANOS, 2015). The bus had a 1990 Busscar Urbanus body (Busscar Ônibus S.A.; Joinvile, Santa Catarina State, Brazil) and a Mercedes-Benz O 371 chassis (Mercedes-Benz; Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) (VIANA, 2011). This bus made passenger transport between João Pessoa and Cabedelo towns, and installed with a mobile phone-type payphone as the route is flat, road was preserved and without frequency wave interference from irregular terrains. The payphone was connected to a 12 volts battery, and an external antenna fixed to the bus body for wave transmissions. The time spent from João Pessoa to Cabedelo town by bus was around 50 minutes with stops in Jacaré, Poço and Camboinha regions. The price per call was similar from that of conventional payphones (ÔNIBUS URBANOS, 2015).
In Brazil, only Curitiba town (Rio Grande do Sul State) had buses with mobile phone-type payphones available in 1994. As operating costs were four times higher than those of conventional payphones and demand was low, TELPA deactivated the system after the experimental period (ÔNI-BUS URBANOS, 2015).

Payphones on Viação Itapemirim S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. transport company buses
A telephone system using payphones was installed on some buses of Viação Itapemirim S.A. (São Paulo State, Brazil) and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. (Curitiba, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil). This installation began on 1 st December 2000 and benefited passengers traveling between Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, and Vitória regions. The telephone system via satellite from Globalstar, Inc. (Covington, Louisiana, United States of America) was used (RIPARDO, 2000).
A total of 43 busses from Viação Itapemirim S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A., models Golden and Classis, respectively, were installed with payphones, in a first trial phase. After this trial, the service was offered to a higher number of bus transport companies with lines covering other towns (RIPARDO, 2000).

S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. transport company buses
Specific smart card-type phonecards with a chip, manufactured by Daruma Telecomunicações e Informática S.A. (São Paulo State, Brazil), were used. These cards were available for purchases at the counters of transport companies. Passengers would be able to make domestic and international calls. The cards were of one, three and five minutes with prices of 0.49, 1.27 and US$1.88, respectively (currency conversion from Brazilian real to American dollar was carried out on 17 July 2021) (RIPARDO, 2000).
The use of phonecards in these buses improved travel quality to passengers. The payphone was located at the back of the bus and had a display allowing the passenger to control the time spent on each call. In addition, the driver had a device in the bus cabin allowing permanent contact with the main office (RIPARDO, 2000). A total of 350 public telephones were installed on 336 Carris buses up to October 2008 with only one of the buses being a tourist bus (Figures  2A-2B). The Telo system used the GSM technology being same as those chip mobile phones, but it worked with the traditional payphone phonecards (OPANTANEIRO, 2008). The Telo payphone functioned as a tradicional payphone, with some physical differences. The Telo was smaller and without edges, fixed to the vertical bars of the buses and could be rotated around its axis, allowing its use by standing and seated passengers. The payphone had also a tracking system, through which public transport companies could track their fleet. The Telo was developed and patented by Público Veicular Inovações (PV Inova) of the business incubator at the Genesis Institute of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (SOFANOTETO, 2008;TELESÍNTESE, 2008).

Collecting bus phonecards as a hobby
The study was carried out in an office where a collection of phonecards and other collectible items is kept in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, Indonesia (0°20' N × 101°51' E). The specific phonecards used in payphones of Viação Itapemirim S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. buses were obtained for their description. The front and back of each card was scanned ( Figures 3A-3L). The phonecard characteristics were identified including card catalog number, issue date and face value (expressed in phone-time). A brief description of the cards was also made. In addition, the type of microchip module (CM) and number printed per card were identified following procedure described by TAVARES AND SILITONGA (2021b). The market evaluation (expressed in US$) of the mint and fine used cards in 2004 was also identified from the catalog published by PITARRESI (2004) ( Table 1). The price of the cards (expressed in US$) as a collectible item in Brazil in July 2021 was also identified by consulting a professional phonecard collector (currency conversion from Brazilian real to American dollar was carried out on 17 July 2021) ( Table 2).  Complete set BRA-C-1 + BRA-C-2 + BRA-C-3 175.93 Complete set BRA-C-4 + BRA-C-5 + BRA-C-6 117.29 *Catalog codes by PITARRESI (2004). **Price was informed by a professional Brazilian phonecard collector (currency conversion from Brazilian real to American dollar was carried out on 17 July 2021).

Conclusions
A mobile phone-type payphone working with tradicional phonecards, developed by TELPA and installed in 1994 on Rogetur Transporte e Turismo Ltda. transport company buses, is the first consolidate case of a payphone used in a bus in Brazil. Specific phonecards developed by Globalstar, Inc. in 2000 were used in payphones installed on Viação Itapemirim S.A. and Empresa de Ônibus Nossa Senhora da Penha S.A. transport company buses.