[November 25, 2009]

CM gifts Dwarka residents a smart ticket to travel

(Mail Today (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SMART card is Delhi's ticket to future that's how Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit sees it.

Launching a multipurpose smart card facility for bus commuters in Dwarka on Tuesday, Dikshit said she would ensure that people visiting the Capital will not leave with an impression that Delhi is a metropolitan village but the Capital of a country which was growing economically and strategically.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dikshit launched a low- floor air- conditioned circular bus service in Dwarka with smart card facility.

Residents of Dwarka can pay the bus fare using the card.

For the first time in Delhi, the fare will be charged not according to the slab but as per the kilometres covered. Delhi government wants to make the card multipurpose and it will soon be used not only to move around in Dwarka but also to pay toll charges on DND flyway and Delhi- Gurgaon expressway, to pay radio taxi fare and parking charges. The card can also be used to make purchases at the local shopping mart.

" Delhi will be a window of the country to the world," she said. These smart cards can be recharged in the denomination of Rs 50 up to a maximum of Rs 500.

People have to deposit Rs 50 as security money.

A person boarding a bus will have to flash the smart card in front of an automatic fare collection machine. He/ she has to repeat the procedure while getting off and the fare will be automatically deducted from the card.

Dikshit said, " The service will be extended to all the Delhi Transport Corporation buses. Gradually all other buses plying on the city roads will have this facility and finally the card will be integrated with the one being used for the Metro services. We are trying to collaborate with a bank in this connection. It will give us the option to convert this card into a multi- purpose one. We are also discussing with radio taxi operators," Delhi transport commissioner R. K. Verma said.

" The success of the smart card on the circular route in Dwarka will help us understand the technology as well as the response of the commuters and our employees. In the next leg, the system will be installed in 600 buses, which will shuttle between 26 locations and the Commonwealth Games venues. The installation of automatic fare collection machine will also facilitate common ticketing system to be introduced before the Games," said a transport departmental official.

Senior Delhi government officials said they had used the most advanced technology and world's best hardware for the machines. A delegation of senior transport officials along with transport minister Arvinder Singh had attended a conference in London earlier this year to understand various technologies available across the world.

Some of the cities in the world where smart card is being used are Hong Kong, San Francisco, Stockholm, Singapore, Beijing, Boston, Oslo and Rome.

A smart card is a plastic card with an embedded integrated circuit that can process data The pocket-size card contains a security system with tamperresistant properties and is capable of providing security services (e.g. confidentiality of information in the memory) Card data is transferred to the central administration system through card reading devices, such as ticket readers or ATM Smart cards provide a means of effecting business transactions in a flexible, secure, standard way with minimal human intervention The most common smart card applications are - credit cards, electronic cash, computer security systems, banking, Satellite TV, government identification Smart cards are more popular in Europe than in the United States. In Europe, the health insurance and banking industries use smart cards extensively HOW IT WILL WORK IN BUSES A person needs to flash the smart card in front of automatic fare collection machine while boarding and getting off. The fare amount will be automatically deducted while getting off (c) 2009 India Today Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

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