File photo of a Delhi Transport Corporation bus
DTC buses may finally go hi-tech within next six months as the corporation has decided to take up the project of installing electronic ticketing machines in all its buses.
Interestingly, passengers will also be able to pay their fare on DTC buses with Delhi Metro smart cards till July next year.
"Some companies have shown their interest in this project and in next seven days, a company will be selected for this pilot project. We hope that ETMs will be installed in DTC buses within six months," DTC chief Debashree Mukherjee said.
The project, which was first mooted in 2010, is expected to plug the holes in DTC's existing revenue collection system.
It will also be the first step towards an automated fare collection system that would include Delhi Metro and other forms of public transport.
"After installing ETMs in buses in next six months, we will then move towards common cards for travelling in both DTC and Metro, which will be done in another six months," Mukherjee said.
A common mobility card was proposed in 2010, during the Commonwealth Games, but failed to take off due to differences over revenue sharing.
According to DTC, all matters have now been sorted out and corporation wants this project to be implemented as soon as possible for giving better facilities to its passengers.