BENGALURU: While the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has introduced the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is yet to take significant steps in this regard. The implementation of the same is still being discussed and far from being a reality. “BMTC and the Metro should be integrated and not be competitors. They should complement each other. For example, it was heartening to see that the Metro was extended to Whitefield.
It was the citizens of the area who created awareness about the extension and thereby pressured BMTC to start the feeder bus services. It is the combination of feeder buses and the Metro services that will solve congestion issues in Bengaluru,” said BMRCL MD Anjum Pervez at the recently concluded Bengaluru Tech Summit on the ways to reduce congestion in the city.
“We plan to introduce bike taxis in Metro Stations. The primary concern is for the public to use these multi-modal transport services to make their travel seamless. We should have one travel card for the entire nation. It will be gradually passed on to other sectors. Seamless travel through autos, cabs, buses, and Metro should be achieved and the same is possible if there is integration,” Pervez stated.
However, sources from the BMTC revealed that the integration of NCMC with the bus corporation is still in the discussion stage and the bus corporation has not taken any significant steps in making it a reality.