Delhi Metro cards to buy DTC tickets in Delhi

freeonlineindia August 23, 2016 Must Know Leave a comment

Delhi Metro cards to buy DTC tickets in Delhi

We have already seen a lot of steps taken by the central government as a part of digital India. From Aadhaar linking to Railway database to using ATM without debit card, each step towards digital India make people go crazy after this. Addition to all these steps Delhi has taken a small initiative to relax regular bus travellers as from now onwards they can use their Metro Smart Card to buy DTC Bus Tickets. The cashless travel will be absolutely easy for any traveller who holds a metro card. Before India many other countries have the same provision where they can use a same card for different transportation system. London, Japan, Hong Kong and other countries have this kind of cards that can be used not only in different mode of transportation but also they can be used in other shops and pop-up stores as well. This is the first time in India that this kind of provision is being started.

Smart Cards in DTC Buses: Use

Delhi Metro Smart Cards will be much easier to use in DTC buses. The system of paying through smart cards will be exactly same as the metro stations. The passenger needs to present the card to the conductor who will have the Electronic Ticket Machine. He will swipe the card once the journey starts.
Further when the passenger ends the tour, he / she will have to swipe the card again in the same machine and the amount of the ticket will be deducted from the balance present in the card. This system is exactly same as the metro system.

Smart Cards in Other Payments

As of now the system does not allow other payments through metro smart card. As mentioned countries like Hong Kong, London, Japan and South Korea have this kind of cards through which you can make payments to anywhere from transport to restaurants. But in India this is the first time that you can use a same card for two different modes of transportation.

If we talk about cashless journeys then many of the cab services already started Wallet system in which you can easily transfer your money without carrying cash. So in all the private cab services there is a provision of Wallet that allows you to travel without cash. In public transport this will be the first time where you can travel cashless.

ETM Status in Delhi Buses

Delhi is the only state where this provision has been started. Kolkata also has Metro but does not have such provision in buses or any other transportation. Talking about the ETM service in Delhi buses, the system was supposed to start back in 2010, when the state hosted commonwealth games. But due to lack of technical support the authority failed to do so.

The system has started off late and by now only 63% of the total DTC buses have the ETM installed in them. The authority has said that by the end of this year 100% will be covered. The results are yet to be seen though, however the current situation is not as much as satisfactory for the passengers. As per the latest news the system is unable to work properly. Some of the ETMs are not properly installed in the buses and due to technical faults the machines are not working properly.

Overall Verdict / Future Plans

The system is definitely a huge step towards digital India by the government. The majority of the passengers are happy with the system as they don’t need to handle cash during their busy journey. But some of the pictures are not as we expect it to be. Where the passengers are happy about the system the drivers seem to be little sceptical about it. Many of them are denying installing the machine as these machines are showing tremendous technical issues.

If we believe the rumours then the Delhi people will soon get opportunities to use this same card in restaurants, pop-up stores, movie halls and other outlets as well. Though all these are still under the vein but the authority is trying hard to make this possible so that people can enjoy cashless outing in the city.

Smart Cards in other Countries: