BENGALURU: Concessional student bus passes will be replaced by closed-loop cards (digital cards) from this year and the despatch of the first batch will begin from Thursday, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) MD V Ponnuraj has said. These cards can be used by students only on BMTC buses.
Ponnuraj told reporters here on Wednesday that nearly 4 lakh student bus passes are issued annually by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation . “We have already readied 20,000 closed-loop passes and the despatch of these will begin from today. All those who require these passes can apply for them by July 31,” he said.
School students can apply for them through their institutions while college students can go to the BMTC website and apply for it online. This is the first time BMTC was taking the route of issuing bus passes with the help of institutions and there were some teething issues, he said. Altogether, 8 lakh passes are issued by the BMTC for its passengers and this includes monthly passes too, he added.
A senior BMTC official said the process of supplying closed-loop cards was started by BMTC in June 2017 for students as well as the public. The open-loop card can be used in all modes of transport as well as e-purse by adult passengers (not students). “However, it required biometric readings and the Know Your Customer formalities for it were made very stringent by RBI subsequently. So, it did not take off in a big way and only 1 lakh individuals are today registered under it,” he said.
KSRTC wants fare hike
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) had sent a proposal to the Minister for hiking its fares but the BMTC has not sent any such proposal to the government, Ponnuraj said.