Reach-3 line of Namma Metro, which stretches for 10 km, is expected to attract about 7 lakh commuters for whom the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) plans to introduce Combo Travel cards. These cards will have the dual function of performing transit as well as banking-related applications.
Passengers can use the cards for withdrawing money or for travelling or any other banking-related procedures. “On the lines of SBI combo cards provided to the customers traveling on Reach-1, the facility will be extended to Reach-3 and Reach-3 A too. One can use their debit or prepaid cards of the bank selected through a tender process by BMRCL for various purposes. The Combo card will primarily have mag-stripe functionality. These cards will have a chip complying with Europay, MasterCard and VISA (EMV) requirements keeping in view the long term usage of these cards,” said a BMRCL official.
The cards will be issued by the bank to its customers but it is up to the bank to charge its customers for it. However the travel fare for a passenger will be the same whether he uses a Metro Card or a Combo card. In future, if Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules permit, the card can be extended to retail etc., said sources.
“One person requires one card for journeying on the Metro. However, the cards are not personalised,” added the official. The ridership after Phase-1 is completed is deduced to be gigantic for which various forms of travel cards for passengers’ convenience are needed. It is estimated that the growth in ridership without extensions in Phase-1 of metro is about 10 per cent per year and after extensions; the ridership is expected to reach peak capacity.
“BMRCL is procuring 12 trains for Reach 3 and 3A, 11 trains for Reach 3B. Each train has a carrying capacity of 1000 passengers. However, to start with, there may be about eight trains deployed on the section, which may have a daily ridership of about 40,000 increasing to full capacity as and when the line is connected to central parts of the city in about 2 years’ time,” he said.
