The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will start charging fares from passengers travelling on its buses through e-ticketing machines in the national Capital from this month onwards.
DTC’s spokesperson Dr R S Minhas said the corporation will start charging fares through e-ticketing machines (ETMs) from November and by April next year, all corporation’s buses will come under the project. Also, the corporation has plans to introduce common mobility cards by next year which will allow passengers to travel in both DTC buses and metro trains.
The project, which was first mooted in 2010, is expected to plug the holes in DTC’s existing revenue collection system. It will also be the first step towards an automated fare collection system that would include Delhi Metro and other forms of public transport.
Minhas said after installing ETMs in all buses in next six months, DTC will then move towards common mobility cards for travelling in both DTC and Metro, which will be done on priority basis.
“A company has been chosen for providing ETMs for DTC buses. Fare collection will be done through such device on the lines of cluster buses,” he also said.
A common mobility card was proposed in 2010, during the Commonwealth Games, but failed to take off due to differences over revenue sharing.
According to officials, all matters have now been sorted out and the DTC wants this project to be implemented as soon as possible. DTC has already decided to install CCTV cameras and provide Wi-Fi facility to commuters travelling in its buses by December this year.
As per the plan, in first phase, Government will execute the project in some DTC buses, including AC and non-AC low floor buses.