Soon, ride train, Metro, bus using common card

Some months from now, you will be able to travel on a variety of modes of public transport — buses, local trains, the Metro — in select cities, using just one smart card, reports Moushumi Das Gupta.

Some months from now, you will be able to travel on a variety of modes of public transport — buses, local trains, the Metro — in select cities, using just one smart card.

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The common mobility card, called the ‘One India Card’, that the Urban Development Ministry is currently working on, will first be introduced in Delhi on a pilot basis before the Commonwealth Games in October.

It will then be extended to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chandigarh. With a single card — and without buying any ticket — a commuter will be able to access trains and buses in these cities once transport operators modernise their fleet to make them compatible for use with smart cards.

“It will be a multipurpose card, valid for all operators —government as well as private — and on all modes of local

travel. It can be extended to taxis at a later stage. In time, it will be possible to buy inter-city travel tickets and utility items as well using the card,” said M. Ramachandran, urban development secretary.