Kochi: Private buses turn to smart cards to tide over crisis

Kochi: When private buses in Kochi were asked to switch over to Smart Cards three years ago by the district administration under the project ‘City on Wheelz’, it  had met with a lukewarm response, leading to the initiative losing steam. However, post demonetization, with daily collection dipping alarmingly, the private bus owners themselves are now attempting to introduce Smart Cards to tide over the shortage of smaller denomination notes.

“Our collection dipped by half last month post the withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Only office-goers and students are travelling on a regular basis and other sections such as daily wage earners are getting into the buses at a lesser frequency. Many cancel their journey due to the note shortage. Hence we’ve approached software firms to put back the system of Smart Cards so that commuters will have a hassle free journey,” M B Satyan, general secretary, Private Bus operators Association, said.

The average daily collection of the buses is only in the range of Rs 900 to Rs 1200. On the earlier initiative to introduce Smart Cards back in 2013, Satyan said the system would be successful only if over 80 percent of the near 700 buses in the city switch over to the system. “Then only 150 odd buses extended the facility. The commuters didn’t show any interest to purchase the cards,” he said. Asif Basheer, Director of Chillar Payment Solutins Private Ltd, said the firm was approached by the private bus owners. “There are 690 private buses in the city. It means setting up of that much separate bank accounts. We’re ready to provide the system but they have to manage  operation part,” he said.