Pull e-purse strings for a bus ride!

Pull e-purse strings for a bus ride!
DH News Service,Bangalore:
BMTC bus commuters no longer need to fret about the availability of change to buy a ticket. ..

BMTC bus commuters no longer need to fret about the availability of change to buy a ticket.

For, the State-owned BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is shortly introducing “e-purse” -- a re-chargeable, pre-paid card -- as an alternative to the paper tickets and passes.

“One can get the card re-charged for any number of days and commute without worrying about buying tickets,” BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathi told reporters on Friday.

To use “e-purse” one just needs to swipe the re-charged card on the “validator”, a gadget hung at the entrance door of the bus, before boarding. The device will be programmed in such a way that it will automatically collect the stipulated fare through the card. “If the card is invalid and is not re-charged, the validator will show red light and the card holder will not be allowed to board,” he explained. The State-owned Karnataka Electronics Development Corporation (KEONICS), will provide the technology, Tripathi added.

It will introduce “e-purse” on an experimental basis in some areas in the City in a week’s time. “We are planning to fix the price for each card at Rs 65. For the total implementation of the new system, BMTC may need to procure nearly 10,000 validators which may cost around 60 crore,” Transport Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy said.
Tripathi further said plans are on to convert the cards into a multi-utility smart card, wherein other transport services like city taxi services, proposed Metro rail, monthly water and electricity bills’ payment and others will be integrated.

For this, KEONICS is presently holding talks with some banks to include a debit card facility into “e-purse”, to enable the holder to pay public utility bills.

HI-TECH BMTC
* It is a re-chargeable card for commuting
* Rate of card is fixed at Rs 65
* BMTC to later convert it into a multi-utility card