BENGALURU: Following the success of the pilot project to introduce topping up of Metro cards via Paytm at Baiyappanahalli Metro station recently, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has decided to extend this passenger amenity to all its 40 stations. In another development, ‘Metro Route Search’ feature has been launched this week by Paytm that will help in planning one’s journey quickly.
The trial to top up the Metro card using Paytm launched on March 29 at just one counter at Baiyappanahalli has gained in popularity now. A senior Metro official confirmed the development to extend it across the Phase-I network and said, “We have asked for Paytm usage to be extended to all stations to reduce the waiting time for our commuters.”
Varshik, the Metro travel card, is preferred over a token by passengers due to the 15% discount it offers on the regular fare. It is topped up online or at the counters of Metro stations presently. Paytm was yet to respond to queries on the time that would be taken to complete the installation in all stations.
Meanwhile, the digital payments major has launched a Route Search feature for Metro Rail networks across India, including Bengaluru, that will make planning point to point travel extremely easy. A user merely needs to access the ‘Metro’ icon on the Paytm app to benefit from it.
The feature guides one between origin and destination Metro stations, travel time, the fare for the trip, number of stations that need to be covered and the interchange station for changing between Metro lines. In cases where many routes are available, it provides a recommendation on the best route bearing in mind travel time and the number of Metro lines that needs to be interchanged.
According to Abhishek Rajan, vice-president at Paytm, “The Metro Route Search is yet another step towards offering a more convenient way for Metro travellers to smartly plan their journey. We witnessed an overwhelming response to this feature within hours of making it live on the app.”