MMRDA invites bids for common mobility phone app

MUMBAI: The city has taken its first step towards contactless, seamless travel. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Thursday has invited bids for a mobile technology partner to develop and operate a common mobility application under its integrated ticketing services (ITS) project as well as a banking partner for transactions.

Owing to the pandemic, the authority set aside various options and has decided to create a “journey planner”, a mobile application to enable a contactless and seamless travel across public transport systems. MMRDA metropolitan commissioner RA Rajeev said, “We are very happy to take a big step towards seamless travel in Mumbai. We worked on this project during lockdown and have coordinated with different public transport authorities to enable this. The platform will enable commuters to plan their entire journey with just a click.”

In a meeting earlier in July, chaired by the state’s urban development minister, MMRDA approved the revised proposal which is likely to roll-out from December 2020. Once operational, Mumbaiites can use the application to plan their journey by making a payment on the app, which will create a QR code that

can be used for the journey.

The application will work across Metros, monorail, BEST buses, app-based cabs and the suburban railways.

State environment minister Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday tweeted, “A long standing promise now being realised by CM Uddhav Thackeray ji for MMR. Ease of living and travelling is the main intent.”

Currently, each transport mode in Mumbai has its own ticketing system — for suburban trains, commuters can use the ATVM card apart from the physical tickets, Mumbai Metro One also its own card, Mumbai monorail has a token system, while all payments for taxis and autorickshaws, even BEST buses, need to be done through cash.