City bus service to introduce Smart card

Dream Team Sahara (DTS) has decided to introduce ‘smart card’ system for commuters on October 10, which coincides with the third anniversary of its launch.

DTS chief executive officer Sudhansu Jena said it would help address the problem of coin scarcity.

To avail of the cashless travel experience, one has to get the card from the operators.

After a commuter boards a bus, the conductor will swipe it on the machine to charge for the distance the person will travel. The device would generate a printout, which will show details about money debited from the account and the balance available.

one had to apply for the card applying on a form by paying Rs 5. The commuter will then have to pay Rs 50 to get a bar-coded smart card that can be recharged for amounts starting from Rs 100.

The card will come free for those who will do an initial recharge of Rs 300.

Card is valid for lifetime. Recharge voucher is valid for one month. If card remains unused for one month, user will lose recharge value. Cardholder will have to recharge it again. Card doesn’t come with any substantial concession.

Though DTS had attempted to introduce the smart card thrice in the past, it was waiting for the revision of fares so that the latest prices can be fed to the gadget. The state government revised the city bus fare on September 21. The DTS implemented it on Saturday.

The bus operator had conducted a compatibility test of the system for a few weeks.

Around 55,000 people commute in 100-odd buses, plying on different routes here, daily.