Smart card for passengers launched

Kochi: The ‘City on Wheelz’ project under which commuters can purchase smart cards and travel in private buses in the city by swiping it was officially launched here on Wednesday.

District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth inaugurated the scheme by handing over a smart card to Rangadasaprabhu, President, EDRAAC. Hibi Eden MLA handed over the first GPS-enabled ticket rack machine to Sadiq, a bus employee.

“The trials done in the last three weeks were successful. The response was also encouraging as people are lining up to buy the smartcards. Stickers were pasted in buses informing that the project would be launched”, said Nishant Ravindran, Chief Executive officer, Technovia Info Solutions, Kochi, who is the brainchild behind the project.

Over a hundred buses have registered under the scheme so far. The company would distribute swipe card machines, having a smart card reader and internet facilities. From the user side, all that the passenger has to do is to purchase a ‘smartcard’ and recharge it once or twice a month.

During travel, it’s handed over to the conductor who just flashes the smart card over the specially designed ticketing machine after entering the code of the starting and de-boarding stops.

“The advantages are that the commuters and conductors would be spared with the problem of ‘balance’ to be doled out. Also the bus-timings and current running status could be known at bus-stops since the rackets  have GPS facility. The project should be extended to other cities too,” the Collector said.