BENGALURU: Faced with repeated complaints from commuters about long queues at counters of Metro stations to top up its travel cards, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is now working on setting up automated Top-Up machines at prominent places across the city. Presently, more than 60 per cent out of riders use these ‘Varshik Cards’ or ‘Smart Cards’, which offer a 15 per cent discount on each trip.
BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said that the machines would be installed in places where footfalls are very high. “We are thinking of putting them up at the TTMC centres of the BMTC, banks and of course, and Metro stations. More places are being considered,” he said. He did not specify a time frame within which these would be installed.
BMRCL permitted an increase in the storage value of these cards from February this year. An amount of `3,000 is now allowed when the topping up is done at Metro stations while `2,500 is permitted for topping the card online.
The ticket-vending machines, installed at a few Metro stations from 2011, have been functioning erratically. Metro is dependent on an outside agency to correct any fault. The need to calibrate these machines after demonetisation affected their functioning, an official said.
BMRCL officials on Thursday met a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency in the City. MD Ajay Seth said, “We held a dialogue to explore possibilities of long term JICA financing for Metro lines. They have given us funds for Phase-I and we were discussing funding from the agency for Phase-II also. “ JICA has funded `4,000 crore out of the `13,845 crore Phase-I project (42.3 Kms).