MoU for Metro Bus Transit pass inked in Bangalore

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for the Metro Bus Transit (MBT) pass on Tuesday.

Launching the common ticketing system, home and transport minister R Ashoka said, “I am proud to claim that such a thing is the first in the nation and we are able to attract more people to public transport.”

These passes will be introduced after the induction of an automated ticketing system in BMTC. The MBT is valid for a day and comes with a code for reading into the machines at the entrance of Metro stations.

The two types of MBT passes — Saral and Saraag — will make commuting through public transport easier and hassle-free in the coming months. The Saral pass priced at `110 will be valid for travelling in all buses including air-conditioned ones and Metro but excluding airport services.

The Saraag passes priced at Rs70 will be valid for travelling in non-air-conditioned buses and also Metro. The users of either of the passes will have to sign them daily.

A BMTC official said they would print five lakh MBT passes in the beginning and bring on more depending on the demand.

“The Reach 1 is very small and so we are not sure how many of our regular commuters will take the Metro often. But this pass will prove a hit when the entire Metro network becomes operational,” said the official.