Common card for the Metro and MTC soon
Posted on: 04/Jul/2015 12:47:29 PM
Very soon, Chennaites can make use of their Chennai Metro Rail Limited card for travelling in Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses too. As the first move to integrating metro rail and MTC, the necessary formalities are being worked out.
Plans have been on the go for the past two years for integrating the two and an MoU is signed with MTC. Trial runs are being carried out and the system will come into practice in full swing very soon, says CMRL MD Pankaj Bhansal.
Technical specifications for creating new electronic ticketing machines are given out by CMRL. All buses have now got ETMs and these are compatible with CMRL travel card. As far as the technical aspects are concerned, there is no hindrance in making use of CMRL travel card in MTC buses now. Only the payment modalities need to be sorted out, says official from MTC.
CMRL officials believe these issues will be met and sorted out very soon, probably in another three months. This new method will be of help for the commuters as they will no more have to carry exact change with them. According to one of the residents at KK Nagar, who travels to Tidel Park often, he makes use of both Metro and buses often. Making use of a common card for both will be really helpful, he says.
This move will be a new method of having conductor-free buses. Conductors can be rather used for other purposes such as administration at bus depots. This anyway has scared the management about how the unions would react.
In few countries, the bus door is fixed with ticketing machines on its poles. Anyway, this cannot be practiced as we definitely need a conductor for managing the crowd or to issue tickets. Further, the commuter will not tap the card if he is left unnoticed. MTC is currently involved in changing batteries of ETMs. Earlier, the batteries used to last for about eight hours a day which was insufficient. Now, these 8-hour long batteries are to be replaced with 16-hour lasting ones, say officials.
