KOCHI: Kochi One, the pre-paid card for Kochi Metro commuters will be launched alongside or a little before the metro’s commissioning.
It can initially be used exclusively to gain entry into metro trains. “Other options like the card being used to commute in buses and ferries will be added later on. Similarly, efforts are on to rope in KSEB and KWA into the fold, so that people can pay power and water bills using the card,” said Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) Managing Director Elias George.
He termed the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system as the first such open-card system in the country to usher in seamless integration between various modes of public transport. “By enabling a host of payment options, one of our aims is to woo car and two-wheeler owners to use the metro. ‘Melas’ will be held in the vicinity of metro stations to encourage people to purchase the card,” Mr. George added.
Having entered into a pact with Axis Bank in 2015 for the card, the metro agency had announced that it could also be used to purchase merchandise from shops near metro stations and boat jetties (which will come up in 2018-‘19 as part of the proposed water metro in the greater-Kochi area). KMRL is in discussions with Axis Bank to add ferries and KURTC buses to the system.
The Kochi-One smart card uses chip-card technology for making payments. This is popularly referred to as EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa), a technical standard for smart cards.
According to the agreement, Axis Bank will bear the entire expense of the AFC system, besides paying ₹209 crore as royalty to KMRL for a decade. In return, it will get thousands of new customers. On its part, KMRL will get 0.20% of Axis Bank’s gross revenue from the utilisation of the co-branded debit card for non-commuting purposes.
The system uses Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) to collect fare from users of urban transportation systems.
