BENGALURU: After an overwhelming response to the online concessional student passes, BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is going to be the first public bus transport provider in India to implement the online student bus pass system for college students as well. BMTC has decided to extend it to daily, monthly and e-wallet bus passes.
Applications submitted online by students for smart card passes had crossed over a lakh within a week (26.6 per cent). BMTC Managing Director V Ponnuraj said more than 500 smart cards had been delivered to schools. In the previous year, BMTC had disbursed bus passes to over 3.75 lakh students. We will complete distribution of smart cards by the end of August, he told the media on Monday.
On submission of applications, students will get new smart card passes within a week or ten days. From August, students will have to travel with smart card passes which will replace the old bus pass and those students who had not received passes will have to produce acknowledgement number and identity card to bus conductor. As the identification number generated is unique, students can change schools and colleges, he clarified.
Corporation had held more than 100 meetings with education department
It took BMTC over a year and nearly 100 meetings with education department in order to have a system in place, sources said. Private bus operators did not enjoy any advantage due to delay in the disbursing of smart card passes. The students have waited for concessional bus passes as it is 10 to 20 times cheaper than the bus passes of private buses.
On completing distribution of smart card passes, BMTC will focus on bringing monthly bus passes (by end of September) and e-wallet (October) under online system. Those travelling in BMTC will be spoilt for choice, he added.