You may soon commute by bus, metro and local train with a single One India Card, an ambitious proposal mooted by the urban development ministry.
The multipurpose card, which can be used in both state and private-run transport operators, will be extended to autos and taxis and also help pay toll taxes on national highways, utility and retail bills and parking fees. The urban ministry’s OSD (Urban Transport) S K Lohia has written to all state governments, chairman of railway board, chiefs of metro corporations and state road corporations to give their inputs on the draft proposal, prepared by UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd. for rolling out the common mobility card (CMC) and automatic fare collection (AFC) system.
They have been asked to come out with suggestions within 15 days. Failure to do so will be taken as consent. Initially, the scheme will be implemented in metros and 63 mission cities covered in the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Transport operators will have to modernize their fleet to make them card-compatible. The pilot scheme is to be funded by the Centre and by respective transport operators, a ministry official said.