“Our idea is to simplify the travel process for our commuters and hence we have contemplated cashless transaction for commuters,” said a senior CMRL official requesting anonymity. 

Once introduced, commuters would be able to recharge their smart travel cards online and hence avoid the queue at the stations. “Almost every metro commuter carries a smartphone. They would be able recharge from anywhere,” explained another CMRL official. 

CMRL had, in fact, contemplated the idea of creating a technology where the commuter would not even have to place the travel card against the digital reader. It was exploring the possibility of their readers automatically scanning the smartphones or the cards even while commuters walked past the gates, without halting for a moment. 

Metro has already partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) and introduced dual interface cards, one of the six ticketing methods available in the network. The dual interface cards, which have two chips built in them, could function as debit/credit/prepaid cum travel cards. Issued by SBI to its customers, the cards would have both memories implanted in them. “When used as credit/ debit card, the reader would scan the memory of SBI in one chip. For metro, the other chip,” the official explained. The dual interface cards, like other travel cards, also carry a 10% discount for every journey. The dual cards would be valid for five years from the date of purchase or date of recharge, whichever is earliest.