Mubashir Alam Wani
Srinagar, Aug 29 : In order to enhance the travel experience for commuters in e-buses, the Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) has introduced the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) service, enabling users to pay travel charges by card.
A Srinagar Smart City official while speaking with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the programme has already been launched in the Srinagar City and that people have started availing the card facility for easing their travel.
“After its launch on 16 August, the card distribution was started on the next day. In order to encourage people to avail the card for making their travel cashless, we would be giving a five percent discount on basic passenger fare,” the official said.
The official however, added that the discount on basic fare is likely to start from next week and that the card can be availed by anyone on a payment of Rs 100.
Speaking about the availability of the card, the official said that the card can be obtained from any SSCL E-Bus Conductor, SSCL E-Bus Depot at Pantha Chowk and from SSCL office at Lal Chowk.
“The card is like a normal debit card and can be recharged through the Chalo App. The card can be used at all places, wherever PoS machines are NCMC enabled,” the official added.
According to the SSCL, the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) has been launched in Srinagar in partnership with Chalo, India’s leading transport technology company, aimed to enhance the convenience of travel for the people.
Officials said the NCMC offers unique features, allowing users not only to use this card in SSCL buses but also in railways, metros, restaurants and online platforms in India where the NCMC has been implemented.
With regard to the Chalo app, the officials said that the Chalo app aims to improve public transportation by digitizing buses in cities, saying that the Chalo’s technology makes buses more reliable by telling bus passengers where the bus is, in real time with an accurate time of arrival.
“With the live bus tracking service available on the Chalo app, Chalo has enabled the users to reduce their normal waiting time of about 30 minutes to just 2-3 minutes”, the officials said—(KNO)
