The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) plans to install card readers in all buses plying on the 'Ring Route' across Mumbai soon. This means Mumbai buses will have fitted card readers on which passengers simply need to tap once.
BEST sources said efforts are being made to ensure that people traveling on these ring routes no longer have to wait for a conductor. It is also likely to promote ease of travel.
The transport body is devising plans to install card readers inside all the buses running on ‘Ring Routes’ across Mumbai. There are about 600 air-conditioned buses, including mini and tempo buses. These buses run on 174 ring routes which carry passengers from railway stations to various residential areas in Mumbai.
These buses running on the ring route charge a fixed fare of INR 6 for either AC bus and INR 5 for non AC bus. The buses will have reader machines that can read both NCMC cards and tickets purchased on the Chalo mobile app. Passengers only need to tap once while boarding.
Also Read: Mumbai: BEST To Launch 24-Hour AC Buses To Connect Airport T2 With T1
"Passengers need to tap on the card reader sitting near the bus entrance. We are working on launching the system here as the Ring Routes Corridor has been finalized," said a senior BEST official.
BEST officials will soon be inviting tenders from private contractors to supply these card reader machines. Sources said plans are now in the advanced stages and they hope to launch card reader services in buses in the coming months.
For the past several months, conductors have been collecting tickets from passengers standing at the stop before the bus arrives. At that time bus drivers used to stop halt. As a result, the journey was delayed. However, with card readers, the journey will be much easier.
Also Read: BEST’s Multi-purpose Mobile Vans Will Enable Mumbaikars To Pay “These” Utility Bills
Share
Tweet
