BEST Mumbai launched National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for buses
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has become the first public transportation service in the country to roll out National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for buses. The card will have an automatic fare collection system and the amount will be deducted from the wallet that can be accessed by the passenger through their smartphones. The card is launched in partnership with RuPay, Yes Bank, and Chalo. The users can also access their accounts through their mobile app as it will turn smartphones into an inter-operable transport card that commuters can use to pay across transport modes eventually.
NCMC is an automatic fare collection system, launched in March 2019. It is an inter-operable transport card conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. This enables users to pay for travel, toll duties (toll tax), retail shopping, and money withdrawal. The card is in use on the Airport Express line of Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Namma, and Ahmedabad Metro with around 710,000 online transactions made till November 2021. The riders can use the same card in different systems across the country.
BEST is the public bus operator in Mumbai and operates one of India’s largest fleets of buses in the country. BEST has a fleet of 3,460 buses, out of which 386 are electric. It operates around 400 routes and has a daily ridership of 2.8 million. BEST converted its system NCMC-compliant in March 2022, allowing common mobility cardholders across the country to use it in BEST buses. The users can purchase the card from the depot and can top it up online or with bus conductors. BEST also introduced smart card in partnership with CHALO recently.
— BEST Bus Transport (@myBESTBus) April 19, 2022
The agency will also introduce a premium service, wherein people can book bus seats through a mobile application. BEST is planning to operate 100 buses as premium buses. Further, the card will be in use on Mumbai’s local trains, Metros, cabs, auto-rickshaws, and other utilities too in the coming months. Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) had been working on implementing it by integrating it with the railways’ ticketing system. Passengers will be able to top-up their season tickets as well as buy tickets. The project for railways will take a formal shape once all approvals are in place.
In order to promote all school students to use buses, the government will offer concessions to private school students. Currently, students in civic schools can travel by BEST buses for free. Now students in all private schools can travel by buying a monthly pass costing ₹200 to ₹350 ($3.5 to $5).
Photo/Video: @myBESTBus