Kochi: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) will roll out open-loop smart cards by May and customers can use it for mercantile and internet transactions until November when it can also be used as a ticket to enter the Metro system.
“The smart card design is in the final stages. Now the work of framing out business rules - the added benefits, features of group cards, single cards and tourist cards among others, are progressing. We target to start issuing cards from May,” a senior metro official said.
“The chip card can be linked to any bank account of the user and as such it can be used for a variety of services ranging from paying property tax to purchasing from supermarkets.”
“This is the first time that an open-loop smart card based on Europay, MasterCard and Visa is being introduced in the Metro system. It can be used in the metro system from November and in other modes like city buses and boats in a phased manner,” he said.
The KMRL had earlier instituted a public-private-partnership project with the Axis Bank Ltd, which will undertake funding for its automated fare collection system.
The bank will also take up maintenance of the system for ten years.
In return, the bank will get the rights to issue co-branded cards, which will function as a smart card as well as a ticket. Ernst & Young is the consultant entrusted with the drawing the specification for the smart card system.
