Commuting in the Capital is set to become easier with Delhiites being able to use a common card — the Delhi Metro smart card in this case — on the existing public transport system.
The Transport Department is in the process of enabling the use of the metro smart card on 200 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses as part of a pilot project.
The idea, which was floated in 2010, was originally intended to be functional in time for the Commonwealth Games. It was expected to be the answer to London’s Oyster card.
A year ago, the DTC had successfully used a DMRC smart card on an Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) installed in one of its buses. By August 15 this year, said a senior government official, the department proposes to extend the usage to 200 buses. This will include 100 low-floor buses and 100 under the cluster scheme.
As The Hindu had reported last month, the department intends to increase ridership on the DTC’s fleet of 5,600 buses with a single swipe of the Delhi Metro smart card by next year.
Pilot project on track
“The pilot project is a step further in enabling common mobility across Delhi’s public transport network, which has the Delhi Metro at its core, by the end of this year. The pilot project will be operational on 200 DTC buses for now,” said the official.
“We are on track with regard to procurement of a hardware module, which enables the sharing of software and security systems on ETMs operational both at DMRC stations and DTC buses,” the official added.
One of the most significant technical issues related to common mobility, according to an official, was whether it was to be provided through Delhi Metro smart cards or separate ones developed for the DTC.
In his budget speech earlier this year, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia had said that while all cluster buses had ETMs, the AAP government proposed to implement the system on all DTC buses by the end of the ongoing fiscal.
