BMRCL invited tenders to introduce RuPay Contactless NCMC Card

BMRCL invited tenders for acquiring and issuing open-loop National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) RuPay Contactless Card -

Covid-19: Transit agencies in Bengaluru readying for cashless travel -

With the Centre aggressively pushing for digital payments as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19, transit agencies in Bengaluru are getting their act together to enable cashless travel.

BMRCL has invited tenders to introduce National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) and a financial institution will be selected in June. Four upcoming corridors — Byappanahalli-Whitefield, Mysuru Road-Kengeri, Nagasandra-BIEC, Yelechenahalli-Anjanapura and RV Road-Bommasandra under Phase 2, covering 52km and 44 stations — will be a part of the project. The Gottigere-Nagawara stretch (21km, 18 stations) won’t be covered.

BMRCL officials said all existing Phase 1 Metro stations (Purple and Green lines) will accept NCMC by September and the upcoming Phase 2 corridors slated to be operational between 2020 and 2024 will accept the cards from the beginning itself.

“The Phase 2 automatic fare collection (AFC) system has been envisaged to support the open-loop NCMC, and the Phase 1 system will be upgraded to support the cards,” an official said. Launched in March 2019, NCMC, also known as One Nation One Card, allows passengers to use one card in various transport modes, including Metro and buses, and also to pay parking fees and toll charges. As a pilot, BMRCL has installed new AFC gates at Mysuru Road and Byappanahalli stations on NCMC-based ticketing.

BMTC officials said they will have to replace all old electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) with Android-based ones to accept NCMC cards. “We are facing a financial crisis due to Covid-19. We cannot afford to buy new ETMs without financial assistance from the state government. But we are now working closely with BMRCL to implement NCMC so passengers could use same card in both Metro and buses” said a BMTC official.

Expert speak -

“Transit agencies could implement cashless travel through smart card, QR-based ticketing and online booking. The smart cards with tap-and-pay option can help one enter a bus by simply tapping on the ticketing machines and to pass through AFC gates at Metro stations by avoiding queues in ticketing counters or avoiding physical contact due to cash exchange. Bus operators can keep their handheld ticketing machines at the entrance so that passengers can tap the card on the machine and take their seat. The cards can be distributed through employment centres or educational institutions. Cashless travel should be a mandatory option to travel in public transport during the recovery period”

Note – if you dnt know difference between RuPay Contactless NCMC Card vs normal visa/mastercard Contactless card then here is the answer -

RuPay Contactless NCMC card (or also called RuPay qSPARC cards /or ‘One Nation One Card’) give you offline wallet option, first load money on your offline wallet account & use for Contactless transaction, if you dnt want to use Contactless transaction, no need to load money on your contactless wallet, and use as a normal debit/credit card with OTP/PIN but in case of visa/mastercard Contactless card, money directly debited from your bank/card account.