BENGALURU : The digital Namma Pass launched by Bangalore Metropiltan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in co-ordination with an IIM-B incubated startup called Series-5 Labs back June, currently provides Volvo day passes. However, in about a month, they will expand their services to include monthly non-AC and AC Vajra bus passes too. “We will soon offer an option to buy the monthly passes for non-AC and AC buses on the Namma Pass website. They have to upload a picture or selfie of themselves, to create a pass and pay for it through PhonePe's e-wallet,” said Saro Chandra Bhooshan, CEO of Series-5.
“The monthly non-AC pass costs `1,050 and AC pass is `2,300 plus GST. Currently, between 40 to 50 commuters are using our daily Volvo pass, costing `147. To rope in more customers, we tied up with commercial establishments to display offers available nearby. These include offers on dining options, malls, fashion, events and entertainment. During the Rajyotsava and Diwali season, we will also offer the daily pass at a discounted rate of ` 99,” Bhooshan added.
The passengers show their digital pass to the conductor. He or she enters their token number (token number is an identification number assigned to each conductor) on the passenger's phone, following which, an SMS is sent to the conductor with details of the pass number and its validity. The conductor then enters the pass number on the electronic ticketing machine (ETM).
Alternately, commuters can download the ‘research’ app on their phones. If the conductor is carrying a smart phone, they can scan the QR code on the digital ticket, after which the details of the ticket will come up on the phone for verification.
Chief traffic manager of BMTC, S Vishwanath, said, “Currently, 50 customers use the digital daily pass for travelling on volvos. It is yet to become scalable, despite best efforts by the start up on the ground-level with customers.”At an event last week in the city on data of public transport, the CTM said, “The digital pass has been able to penetrate only one per cent of the commuting population. We are selling 4,000 to 5,000 volvo passes on a daily basis and the digital passes are a small portion of this.”
In the corporation's efforts to go digital with Intelligent Transport System, including vehicle tracking, electronic ticketing machines, smart cards and digital payments, it remains to be seen if the digital passes sees more patronage among customers.