Bengaluru: Association of E-City firms launches mobility wallets to promote public transport

Bengaluru: Electronics City’s corporate entities are encouraging employees to use public transport through National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-compliant prepaid wallets.

On Monday, the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA) launched Orbit Wallet RuPay prepaid cards for employees of member companies, in collaboration with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and WRI India.

Designed specifically for ELCIA, the NCMC promotes sustainable commuting by enabling users to pay seamlessly for public transport and other eco-friendly modes. The card currently supports the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and will soon extend to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) services.

Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport, WRI India, said the initiative aims to encourage corporates to shift from private vehicle incentives such as free parking and fuel reimbursement to public transport rewards.

"To encourage more people to use the metro, we have preloaded 250 cards with Rs 1,500 as a first-time initiative. The cards will be issued on a first-come basis. Once usage patterns are studied, companies can create policies and issue the cards directly,” he said.

Santhana Gopala Krishna, Deputy Manager (Finance), Aurigene Oncology, said corporate employees share the responsibility of easing congestion and reducing pollution.

“Look at the corporate crowd every morning — most vehicles carry single occupants. This behaviour must change, and incentivising public transport can help. If one card enables seamless travel across all systems, it will benefit many,” he said.

Innovative ways to nudge commuter behaviour

Orbit Wallet is one of four winners of the Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP), launched by WRI India, ELCIA, and TMF in collaboration with BMTC and BMRCL in April 2025.

The programme seeks scalable solutions to boost metro usage, especially in last-mile connectivity.

The other winners are Tummoc, an intra-city commute app; Weebee, a commute-based gaming platform; and Nippon Koei, which studies employee commuting behaviour. ELCIA companies can adopt any of these to promote public transport.