Delhi buses readying to move with times

NEW DELHI: The city government will soon enable the buses operated by Delhi Transport Corporation and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System with a digital mode of ticketing. The Delhi transport department issued a notice inviting an e-tender for the same on Sunday.
After it has been implemented, ticketing will be done via a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), a senior official said. “Consider this like a debit and credit card which can be used for e-commerce, online transaction plus at the transit system with NCMC-enabled technology.”
“Presently, very few buses have ticketing via electronic ticket machine while for the rest, we have manual tickets issued by conductor where no data relating to origin and destination is collected,” he added.
The NCMC-compliant digital ticketing solution will enable public transport in Delhi, beginning with buses, to move away from the manual ticketing, according to officials.
The tender floated by the transport department includes the supply and operation of Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) for 7,500 buses in Phase 1, they said.
It also includes the provision of Smart cards or NCMC cards for buying the tickets rather than paying in cash. Further, a mobile app feature to help people buy online tickets and concessional passes will be provided by the bidder.
The complete digital solution, according to officials, will remove any chances of pilferages in the process. The ETM machine will also issue Pink tickets, enabling women to travel for free, they said.
The NCMC cards facilitate multi-modal transit offline payment. The idea is to have a connected network of transport in the city, officials said. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) airport line is already NCMC-compliant while a target has been to make ticketing on other lines NCMC-compliant by June 2023.
The commuters will be able to buy bus tickets and use the same card to buy the metro ticket. Officials said more transit options will be added in the coming years to make travel more convenient.
“Currently, thousands of people have been using the One Delhi app to buy their bus tickets and daily pass online. It was launched in Nov 2022,” an official said.
Another official added: “With this tender, our bus system will also be enabled and there will be synch in different modes of transport.”
Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, “Delhi has been committed to providing more convenient and safer travel for its citizens. We want to totally move away with the current manual ticketing where the origin and destination are not being captured at all.”
“Delhi wants to enable a system for the commuters to even know if the next bus coming is 100% full or partly crowded along with the tracking of buses at the bus stops to know the exact waiting time. In addition, the NCMC-enabled solution will help them to use the same card for multi-modal transit systems, starting with buses and Metro Rail. The idea is to grow this to all modes of public transport in the city by making Delhi a world-class city,” he said.