Amdavadis will soon get a novel form of ticketing in their hand. After much dilly-dallying, the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) appears to have woken up to the importance and usefulness of the smart card.
With the AJL having commenced its global hunt for a company that can provide the technology needed for the card, daily commuters in the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) can look forward to a smoother ride very soon.
The AJL had failed to introduce the smart card system as the ITeS (Information Technology Enabled Services) partner company Kaizen Ltd, could not adapt to the technology easily, an AJL official says.
Now, after giving the company almost six months time — and a few notices — the AJL expects positive response to their global tenders before the deadline — April 2 — that they have set.
"We have floated tenders for smart cards and expect a good response. If everything falls in place, the smart card ticketing system would be implemented by April end," said municipal commissioner IP Gautam.
The smart card will be pre-paid in nature and serve three purposes. Thus, commuters will no longer have to worry about keeping change handy for their BRTS travel-related demands.
Smart cards of a specific value will have a corresponding validity.
With each ride, the value of the fare will be deducted from the total value of the card. The swiping machine will keep count of the balance and validity available in the smart card.
Once this system is put in place the smart card will also help passengers who commute by AMTS buses regularly — for, later on, there could be a common ticket system for both AMTS and BRTS.
When they first planned to introduce smart cards, the AJL had decided to offer prepaid ones in denominations up to Rs 500 with a minimum Rs50 balance. They will most likely stick to this system.
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