Pandemic hits introduction of common mobility card

The proposed national common mobility card is still far away from becoming a reality due to a range of technical issues.

The card will bridge the divide between Namma Metro and the BMTC, and help travellers avoid cash transactions, officials say.

The BMRCL began working on the mobility card last year but its progress was stalled by the pandemic. Although the newest operational metro line - between Yelachenahalli and Silk Institute - does have automatic fare collection (AFC) gates that are compatible with the mobility card, the card itself has remained at a trial stage.

“Recently, about 20 cards have been received from one bank. We are testing the card in the AFC systems of Phase 1 stations. Ensuring the system integration is important before we start installing AFC gates in all the stations. It may take a few months to commercially roll out the cards,” said B L Yeshwanth Chavan, chief public relations officer, BMRCL.

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The challenges multiply for the BMTC, which is still working on installing GPS on its buses and has far less financial support from the government than the BMRCL.

Unlike Namma Metro’s closed-door operations, the BMTC faces the challenge of integrating the fare collection system with its 6,500 buses, which will be on the move. “Even before conducting internal trials, we are looking at a host of issues, starting with the need to overhaul the existing electronic ticketing machines (ETMs).

There are also questions about the specifics of technology. For example, tapping of the card seems preferable to swiping,” said a source in the BMTC.

The BMTC called bids for the automatic fare collection system, which includes procuring ETMs that are compatible with the mobility card.

“The response to that tender has only helped in realising the prerequisite changes that need to be implemented before the BMTC can work on the mobility card. We need to develop a robust back-end software that can integrate the ETMs with the existing and upcoming systems,” the source explained.

The BMTC wants to give several options in the card, from QR codes to payments via phone-enabled with near-field communication. Officials also believe they need to wait for the BMRCL to launch the card and learn from the real-time issues before adopting the system in BMTC.