National mobility card for Bangalore Metro from Oct 21
BENGALURU: To mark 10 years of operations of city’s Metro, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), will be launching the much-awaited National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) on October 21.
BMRCL is all set to launch ‘One Nation, One Card’ with 25,000 cards ordered in its first batch. However, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is not yet ready to offer the facility to commuters.
The utility of the card, based on the Rupay payment system, is that it can be used on all Metro networks, buses, parking, and retail shopping. BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parwez said, “The Automatic Fare Collection gates at our Phase-I stations have been retrofitted to accept the NCMC card. All the Phase-II stations are already equipped to handle this facility.” The Rupay debit card will be available at all banks and Metro stations, he said.
Asked if the NCMC would be priced, Parwez said, “We are still holding discussions and are yet to reach the final decision.” The present Metro travel card is available at Rs 50 and one needs to have a minimum balance of the same amount to make a trip.
The card can be used in Delhi Metro’s Airport Line which launched the facility in December 2020, he added. Anbu Kumar, BMTC Managing Director told TNIE, “There is no doubt the card will be very useful to the public. We are still analysing and studying it and hope to take a final call on adopting it within a fortnight.” However, he pointed out that BMTC could not adopt it as quickly as BMRCL.