Almaty commuters pay broken keys for bus fare

Cunning commuters would use anything but money to pay for a bus fare in Almaty. Instead of tenge coins they would sometimes put broken keys, old soviet coins or any foreign currency. The validators happened to "gulp down" anything and even give change for it. Everyday the cashiers of the public transportation companies have to fish out the metal garbage. According to AlmatyElectroTrans, every month there is up to 30 kilos of "alternative payment". The loses have not been calculated yet but the company promise to replace some of the ticket machines will more advanced and harder-to-fool electronic devices in April.