Delhi govt to soon launch common mobility cards for DTC, cluster buses

The Delhi government will soon provide digital ticketing solutions compliant with National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) across all its buses run by DTC and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System

The Delhi government will soon provide digital ticketing solutions compliant with National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) across all its buses run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS).

The NCMC-compliant digital ticketing solution will enable public transport in Delhi, beginning with buses, to move away from manual ticketing, according to an official statement.

The Delhi Transport department issued a notice inviting an e-tender for this on Sunday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently flagged off 50 new electric buses taking the total number of buses running in the city to 7,379.

The digital ticketing solution is also part of the Route Rationalisation study conducted by the Transport department whose pilot phase is in progress since October last year.

The tender floated by the Transport department includes the supply and operation of Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) for 7,500 buses in Phase 1. In addition, it also includes the provision of smart cards or NCMC cards for buying the tickets rather than paying in cash.

The details of the tender can be found on the e-procurement portal of the Government of NCT of Delhi at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in. The last date for submitting the bid is February 20.

The NCMC cards facilitate multi-modal transit offline payment. The vision of the Delhi government is to have a connected network of transport in the city. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) Airport Line is already NCMC-compliant while the rest of the lines are on target to be NCMC-compliant by June 2023.

It means the commuters will be able to buy their bus tickets and also use the same card for journey on the Delhi Metro. More and more Transit options will be added in the coming years to make travel more convenient.

In a statement, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, "We wanted 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 per cent full or partly crowded along with tracking of buses at the bus stop to know their exact waiting time".

"In addition, the NCMC enabled solution will help them to use the same card for multi modal transit systems starting with bus and Metro Rail. The idea is to grow this to all modes of public transport in the city making Delhi a world class city," Gahlot said.