Seamless travel on the Capital’s existing public transportation system through the Delhi Metro smart card, which was intended to be a Diwali gift for bus and metro users alike, will take longer to materialise than originally intended.
Pending approval
However, according to sources, there does appear to be some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel in this regard pending approval from the Delhi Finance Department.
The Delhi government, according to a senior official, had directed the Transport Department to ensure that common mobility on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and the Delhi Metro became a reality here latest by mid-October and well in time to be launched by the festival.
However, the senior official added, the plan won’t materialise due to lack of supply of a crucial hardware component by then.
“A tender to procure Secure Access Module [SAM] cards, which are essential to make secure financial transactions through Metro smart cards aboard DTC buses, failed to elicit any response, which is the reason behind the delay. We were initially hoping that the project would be up and running by October 2, and launched by Diwali,” said a source.
“Since the SAM is a proprietary item, the Department has proposed procuring them directly from a South Korean firm. The proposal has been sent to the Finance Department for approval,” the source added.
Software
A year ago, the DTC had successfully carried out a real transaction through a DMRC smart card on an Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) installed on a DTC bus. The software utilised by both the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the DTC was integrated through shared hardware module and security keys.
Once the system is in place, data related to transactions will automatically go to a central clearing house at 11.59 p.m. daily. The transactions of the DMRC and the DTC will then be segregated and the amounts will go to specific accounts, as per the plan, which has SAM chips at its core.
Pipe dream
A pipe dream since 2010, when it was originally intended to be functional well in time for the Commonwealth Games in October and be the answer to London’s Oyster card among similar cards operational abroad, the Transport Department is currently running a trial of the project — with conductors using Delhi Metro cards on around 200 cluster and around 50 low-floor DTC buses.
One of the most significant technical issues related to common mobility earlier, according to an official, was whether it was to be provided through Delhi Metro smart cards or separate ones developed for the DTC.
