Now, use Metro smart cards for feeder buses, parking at stations

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Sunday expanded the network of Metro smart cards, allowing commuters to use them on feeder buses and for parking at 13 stations in the National Capital Region.

These services are key extensions to the Common Mobility Card project, introduced on January 8 for 250 Delhi Transport Corporation and cluster buses.

“In our second phase, smart card users can use it to make payments in feeder buses,” the DMRC said in a statement.

The Delhi Metro runs a fleet of more than 200 feeder buses covering 40 routes across different lines. Around two lakh people use the feeder buses every day. The minimum fare in feeder buses is ₹5 and the maximum is ₹15. The Metro card can also be used to park at 13 stations — Vishwavidyalaya, Saket, Karkarduma, Dilshad Garden, Akshardham, Patel Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Rohini Sector (18,19), Shastri Park, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Old Faridabad, and Sector 28 Faridabad — and will cover all Metro parking lots over the next two months, a DMRC spokesperson said.

Metro officials say the common mobility card will encourage commuters to park their vehicles at the Metro stations, correcting the existing imbalance that nearly 70% of those who park at the stations at the moment are non-Metro commuters.

In order to start accept smart cards in its buses, the DMRC has updated the software in all its Hand Held Terminals, which are used to read the card and deduct the. “The new software will simplify the ticketing process in the feeder buses and will also save time in the ticketing transaction,” the DMRC said.