The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has tied up with an Austrian company to offer commuters the option of using smartwatches as a smart card at the automatic fare collection systems at all its stations.
“These watches, called Watch2Pay, are available through an online e-commerce site. The new facility is expected to provide commuters a more convenient and faster access to the Delhi Metro network. The commuter will simply have to touch the watch to the screens of the AFC [Automatic Fare Collection] gates at the metro stations to get access,” said a DMRC statement.
Easy access
The watch will carry a SIM card inside it, which can be removed and reinserted whenever the user wants. The SIM-equipped watch can be recharged like the usual metro smart card over the counter or through recharge card terminals, a DMRC official said.
Since the watches use use the same Near-Field-Technology for communication as is the case with existing cards or token, a mobile network is not a prerequisite as in the case of the mobile-app based Dream Gates system, launched at the new stations of the Violet Line.
The Dream Gates system has not become very popular due to connectivity issues during the experimental run.
