Telangana Govt to launch common mobility card for easy travel

Hyderabad (Urban Transport News): In line with some other states like Delhi, the Telangana government is planning to launch a common mobility card in Hyderabad and across the state. This card will enable citizens to travel across multiple modes of public and private transport systems. The common mobility card comprises the usage of a contact and Quick Response (QR) code based card, which will allow people to use it on any mode of public transport. Sources from the Telangana Information Technology department said, “The Hyderabad metro rail already has a contact-based card which people can use. Our question was whether the Telangana State Road transport Corporation (TSRTC) can accept that too. So then the government eventually thought that it should create a card that will work with all modes of transport, and can also act as a payment card. As of now, we are in the process of issuing tenders. The project will materialize in a few months that is done." According to the ongoing planning, the concept is on the lines of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) with regard to public transport that the Central government has been pushing from some years.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) allows for cards to be either stored value cards and debit/credit cards. For example, (Hyderabad) metro cards fall under the former category, but the GOI wanted these mobility cards to have both types of payment modes. Hence the concept we came up with is also future proof.

Under the proposed common mobility card, citizens will be able to use the card to travel in the Hyderabad metro, TSRCT buses and even private transportation across the state. The state government operated buses are expected to be equipped with point of service (PoS) machines to enable a tap-and-go method of payment as well, and the cards will also have a two-factor authentication to go along with the QR code with respect to private players. It will be done following Reserve bank of India guidelines. Moreover, the state government is also pushing for the cards to be issued at no cost to users, with the caveat that they top it up with a nominal minimum amount while acquiring it. The card however will not include the Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) which is operated in and around Hyderabad by the South Central Railways (SCR), the official informed. Once the tender is issued to a company, the project will be ready in 3 to 4 months. It should be ready by the end of this year, as reported by LiveMint.