The most used ticketing option in Chennai Metro Rail – the smart card or travel card – is no longer being issued to commuters. However, if a commuter already has the card, they can recharge and continue using it.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they already stopped purchasing the cards and this had been done in a bid to encourage commuters to buy the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC).
When Chennai Metro Rail services was launched nine years ago, the smart card and tokens were the only ticketing options available for commuters. Many were consistently buying the card, and even today, many still use it. Data shared by CMRL showed that in March, of the 86.82 lakh passengers, the smart card recorded the highest number of users with 37.64 lakh.
“We stopped purchasing smart cards in November last year. This is because we launched NCMC in April last year and all the facilities of the smart card are anyway available in NCMC. Also, NCMC is the way forward because commuters will be able to use them to shop or travel in other modes of transport,” an official said.
But the move has not gone down well with some of the commuters. Poornika Anandan, a frequent commuter and a working professional who has been using the smart card for many years now, said, CMRL shouldn’t have stopped buying smart cards and continue to offer it for commuters. While she has both the smart card and NCMC, she finds the former more convenient. “Most importantly, it is easier to purchase a smart card than NCMC for commuters because for NCMC one has to submit the ID proof. Commuters are mostly in a rush and may not have the time for ID verification,” she added.
S. Balasubramanian, another commuter said he also had the smart card for a long time now and it was good to see that CMRL had introduced numerous other ticketing options like NCMC, WhatsApp, PayTM or QR tickets. “But they shouldn’t discard and do away with the smart card which many commuters are comfortable using. Senior citizens like me find it the most convenient ticket to buy and recharge,” he added.
