Delhi metro’s Twitter wall filled with complaints about out-of-stock metro cards, DMRC responds

Over the past few days, metro commuters have complained about this issue - that smart cards are unavailable at stations like Rajiv Chowk, Barakhamba, Uttamnagar East, RK Ashram, Noida (sector 52), and Noida (sector 18).

The shortage of Delhi Metro smart cards at some stations is due to reduced supply of semiconductor chips, officials said Thursday. "Due to shortage of necessary chip supply to the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) there is less supply of smart cards," Delhi Metro tweeted, assuring commuters that efforts are being taken to restore services.

A Metro train approaches Tagore Garden on the Blue Line. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Archive) (Sanchit Khanna/HT Archive)

Over the past few days, metro commuters have complained about this issue - that smart cards are unavailable at stations like Rajiv Chowk, Barakhamba, Uttamnagar East, RK Ashram, Noida (sector 52), and Noida (sector 18).

The smart cards use radio frequency (RF) technology to function. They have an embedded antenna powered by the chip when the card is within the electromagnetic field of the reader.

Most commuters prefer smart cards over tokens because they are contactless. There is also a 10 per cent discount on journeys with smart cards to encourage its usage.

Since January, there has been a significant rise in demand for smart cards; nearly 78 per cent of commuters use them. Between 10,000 and 12,000 are sold per day and about 2.5 crore cards are in circulation at present.