Common ticket for Metro, train, bus still a non-starter

Hyderabad: The common ticket facility proposed for travelling in RTC, MMTS and Metro Rail has hit a roadblock as there was no response for tenders called twice by the authorities.

The TSRTC, Metro Rail and MMTS authorities had decided to introduce common ticketing facility called National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) aimed at increasing digital transactions and saving journey time. This facility was to be rolled out in January.

This card is supposed to be like a debit card which can be used not only to buy RTC, MMTS and Metro tickets but can also be used for paying the fare of cabs like Uber and Ola, and autos. In addition, they can also be used at shopping, toll plazas and other digital transactions.

The proposed card would have a stored value of money ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 3,000. Though the officials called for tenders twice for the cards so far there has been no response from prospective bidders.

Explaining the system, a senior official in RTC said that this is an open loop single ticket system which is just like any other ATM. When a passenger boards an RTC bus, he would have to swipe the card for the journey and he can dial for a motor cab on Ola/Uber and use the same card to make payment for the journey and if the commuter wants to use the MMTS trains, he would have to again swipe the card at the Railway stations.

The money would be deducted from the card and transferred to theconcerned transport agency. The cards need to be precise with no errors and making of these cards is little complex. Perhaps that was the reason why no prospective bidder had come forward, sources said.