Navi Mumbai: NMMT takes a swipe at e-payments for tickets

"When we approach the customer with the swiping machine, they happily use it," says bus conductor Raj Koli.

While the world scrambles to gather cash, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) has decided to partly do away with it, by embracing digital transactions. The transport service has introduced card-swiping machines in its air-conditioned buses to help customer make e-payments for their tickets.

Shirish Aradwad, transport manager, NMMT confirmed the development and said they started the service from Monday. They have 45 machines in total. "We first started it on AC buses 123 and 125 plying from Kharghar to Borivli. We have given 18 machines on these routes and five machines at depots in Vashi and Kharghar for customers who want to get their monthly passes made," said Aradwad.

On other routes soon
NMMT will be the first transport service to start a cashless service for customers. "We felt that a cashless system will be helpful for customers who travel with their card rather than looking for change or cash. In the upcoming days, we will introduce this in other routes as well," added Aradwad.

Raj Koli, a bus conductor on AC bus 123 said, "After the demonetisation, issuing change was a big problem. If we are on the first route for the day, we don't have change to give to a customer. If a customer gives a Rs 2,000 note, how will we manage to return him Rs 1,900?" The bus fare from Kharghar to Borivali is R140 and the minimum fare for the route is Rs 20.

Happy customers
"Most of the customers travelling in AC buses have a debit card with them. People who have change buy tickets with cash. But if they don't have change, we ask them to use the debit card. When we approach the customer with the swiping machine, they happily use it," added Koli. Milind Kamble, an IT professional and Kharghar resident, who travels to Borivli for work said, "It's a good idea overall and will help the customers as well as the authorities."