As with everything else, digitisation has transformed the way people travel. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) – One Nation, One Card, the first of its kind in the country, with an aim to democratise transport mobility. The all-in-one card enables seamless travel through metro, trains and buses besides shopping, parking and toll plazas.
At Global Fintech Festival, ‘National Common Mobility Card in Transit Systems in India – The New Way to Travel’ was discussed by a panel including Chian Leng Toh, VP – APAC Discover, Discover, M A Siddique, MD, Chennai Metro Rail and Sudhir Chiplunkar, Chief Operations Officer, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad). It was hosted by Denny Thomas, Head – NETC and AePS product, NPCI.
The session explored how with contactless and interoperable travel across various modes of transportation, NCMC is making commuting more convenient and efficient for millions. MA Siddique, MD, Chennai Metro Rail spoke about the rising popularity of Chennai Metro among commuters. He said, “NCMC is an amazing system that allows any card. There is tremendous public convenience and national interest.”
Evolution of transit ecosystem in India
The public transport sector in India was dominated by cash till the introduction of digitisation through closed-loop cards which are prepaid cards that can be used only for a specific mode of transportation like metro trains. NCMC has been designed as open-loop cards that can be used across multiple use cases.
Both Siddique and Sudhir Chiplunkar, Chief Operations Officer, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) spoke about how closed-loop cards remain very popular among commuters. Open-loop cards need to be made more popular. Chiplunkar said, “A day will come in the future where there are virtual cards in phones without any need for physical cards.”
An innovation that has fostered collaboration between the government, fintech companies, and transit authorities, NCMC is not enhancing travel experience for people but also only driving financial inclusion in the country.
