BMTC introduces digital passes on pilot basis

Bengaluru

Citizens who rely on city buses to commute will no longer have to queue up in front of ticket counters to buy passes. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), on Wednesday, launched a digital pass system that will allow passengers to purchase daily, weekly, and monthly passes online. 

BMTC Managing Director Anbu Kumar said the new project has been introduced on a pilot basis for a period of three months to assess how Bengalureans respond to it.  

“The corporation in collaboration with Tummoc [a commute solutions platform] has introduced a digital pass system. Passengers have to download the Tummoc mobile app and create a profile by providing minimum KYC details. Passes can be purchased using the app with a unique ID and dynamic QR code, “ said Mr. Kumar. In future, digital passes feature will be provided in the BMTC mobile app along with the existing mobile app.

Director of BMTC (IT) Surya Sen said all the buses in the fleet have new QR codes, which will allow passengers to self validate their passes. Every day, the corporation reportedly sells more than 40,000 daily passes, while on average 1.30 lakh monthly passes are sold every month. However, demand for weekly passes stands at around just 1,000. 

The BMTC has also rolled out 1,500 new e-ticketing machines in AC buses as well as in some of its ordinary buses to encourage people to opt for cashless transactions including card payments, QR, and UPI payments. There has been a long pending demand from the public to introduce common mobility cards that will allow them to travel in city buses and Namma Metro. 

While the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) said that it has put in place required infrastructure to introduce common mobility cards, it is yet to launch the service. On the other hand, BMTC has a long way to go before it can roll out the initiative.