Snapshot
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‘Mumbai 1’ will initially be used in metro corridors and can be extended to other modes of mass public transit including local trains and buses as well. Commuters will not need to carry multiple cards or cash.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and State Bank of India (SBI) have collaborated to provide National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) based ticketing solution for the newly launched Mumbai metro lines 2A and 7.
The recently inaugurated Lines 2A and 7, are two parallel elevated corridors running along a 35-km stretch along the Western Express Highway (WEH). Line 2A will serve as an alternative to the western railway line.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘MUMBAI 1’ Mobile App and National Common Mobility Card (Mumbai 1) on 19 January.
The app will facilitate ease of travel, can be shown on the entry gates of Metro Stations and supports digital payment to buy tickets through UPI.
‘Mumbai 1’ will initially be used in metro corridors and can be extended to other modes of mass public transit including local trains and buses as well. Commuters will not need to carry multiple cards or cash.
The NCMC card will enable quick, contactless, digital transactions, thereby easing the process with a seamless experience.
It is expected that about ten lakh commuters will opt for the card as this would make their daily commuting much more convenient.
Dinesh Khara, Chairman of State Bank of India, stated, “The partnership between SBI and MMRDA will improve the customer experience and is aligned to the national vision of “One Nation One Card”, as per SBI press release.
In line with its continuous and uninterrupted focus on innovation and customer-centricity, SBI has partnered with transit operators since 2019 for NCMC initiatives. Under NCMC programs, SBI has successfully implemented projects with Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) Ltd. under the name “City1 card” and with Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) for the “Nagpur Metro MAHA Card”.
SBI is implementing an NCMC-based ticketing solution at Kanpur Metro and Chennai Metro also, which is at an advanced stage of execution and would be available for the public very soon.
Currently, each transport mode in Mumbai has its own ticketing system — for suburban trains, commuters can use Automatic Ticket Vending Machine(ATVM) card apart from the physical tickets; Mumbai monorail has a token system; while all payments for taxis and auto-rickshaws and even BEST buses need to be done through cash.
Across the world, big metropolises have single or multiple common mobility cards — London has the Oyster Card; Hong Kong has the Octopus card; Sydney has the Opal card; Toronto has Presto; and Manila has the Beep card.
One Nation-One Card
Prime Minister Modi gave wings to the National Common Mobility Card Ecosystem by launching ‘One Nation-One Card’. The National Common Mobility Card, supported by the RuPay platform facilitates multi-modal transit offline payment.
The National Common Mobility Card enables customers to make use of their existing Debit/Credit card for payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail.
The stored value on the card supports offline transactions across all travel needs with minimal financial risk for stakeholders. The service area feature of this card supports operator-specific applications e.g. monthly passes, season tickets, etc