BMTC may miss its smart card deadline

Bengaluru: BMTC’s attempts to start their smart card project card have been going on since June 2016, with delays in commercial operation due to technical glitches. The pilot launch with 100 commuters was in June 2017, but BMTC may not meet its October deadline to extend cards to all their 52 lakh commuters.

Giving an update about the current status BMTC IT Director Bishwajit Mishra said, “The feedback seems good. Inputs were taken from commuters and conductors, and modifications have been made. The smart card is now more user-friendly.”

Despite this progress, another BMRCL official said that implementation in all buses is unlikely by October-end.

What is the challenge?
Mr Mishra said, “The challenge is that it takes time to stabilise. The transaction happens smoothly while the ticket is issued, but later the amount needs to be transferred properly, that is reconciliation needs to happen between Axis Bank and Internet Payment System (IPS).”

Ideally there should be no mismatches, except occasionally. This issue has been resolved now, Mr Mishra said, adding that by October 1 the smart cards will be expanded from 100 people in 335E bus to all commuters of that bus. 

“By October-end, with everything in place, it will be employed in Vajra (AC) and Vayu Vajra (Airport) buses,” he said.

Managing Director Ponnuraj, who closely monitors the project, told Deccan Chronicle that 100 is a small number and the volume will have to be increased.

“We have a group which takes daily feedback from commuters. The target is to expand from October onwards, but it will take time to pick up. With a few cardholders there are no issues now, but when the load increases technical issues may crop up. It will be tested when the load is more. This is called concurrency factor, which shows how many users can use the product easily,” Mr Ponnuraj said.