Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) officials are recommending the use of Metro Nebula Card, but facility itself is still in its nascent stages. These teething issues are not helping commuters and they still have to stand in long queues to recharge the card at Metro stations.
The Metro card can be recharged online and presents a convenience in that sense, but currently the amount recharged on the card does not reflect on it until the cardholder visits the station and taps it at the ticket vending machine (TVM). Consequently, despite owning cards and recharging them online, commuters still have to queue up to complete the recharge process using the Metro Rail app Tsaavari.
Several card holders have stories of inconvenience to tell. K. Prasad, one such commuter travelling regularly from Kukatpally to Ameerpet, said, “I was told to tap my Metro card at the ticket vending machine. It showed zero balance even though I recharged with Rs 200 using the app and paid via PayTm. On approaching the customer service desk, they too found the balance at zero and asked me to make another recharge of Rs100. Strangely, the full amount reflected in my account only after I tapped again at the TVM.”
It is evident that tapping of Metro card is not seamless either. A staff at Kukatpally Me-tro station said, “Don’t recharge online for a few days using PayTm or any other wallet. The money is not getting credited because of some problem. You can recharge here at the AVM/TVM or at the customer service centre.” Addressing the issue, Hyderabad Metro Rail MD N.V.S Reddy said, “It will take some time for the online process to become completely smooth as we are still in the initial stages. We have instructed our team to identify the limitations of the app and work on the solutions. The work is on to fix these issues.”
To make matters worse, the app is not bug-free. Also, a transaction made through PayTm will attract additional taxes, while a recharge at the station gets you a full amount credit. “Rs 306.37 was deducted from my wallet after I recharged using PayTm, but when I recharged at the station for Rs 100 I got the full amount.” As per the terms of service on the app, LTMRHL doesn’t charge any fee for its use. So is it the payment wallet or the related financial institution that is charging a fee on a Metro card recharge.
