Biometric scans for discounted metro rides in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Travelling by Delhi Metro may soon become easier on the pocket for senior citizens and students.
Following the steep hike in metro fares in 2017, Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had, last year, asked Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to introduce a technology-based solution to ensure fare concessions for students and senior citizens.
The corporation has finally found the solution to ensure concessions for select category of passengers, which will soon be implemented across the entire metro network in the capital.It is, however, not clear as to how much fare concession will be provided among the two categories.
DMRC is going to install biometric-based ticketing system, which will be integrated with the existing automatic fare collection (AFC) gates at the stations. The corporation is looking to rope in a private firm that can install devices that have biometric readers as well as smart card readers.
DMRC plans to install 2,000 such devices at 240 stations with a central server. The cost of installing these is pegged at Rs 14.5 crore.
The devices will also act as a registration device, where passenger information and biometric details will be scanned and registered. “DMRC is exploring the possibility of biometric AFC gate systems, which may help them in future for developing multiple benefits for both passengers as well as the system for passenger identification, profiling, concessions, etc,” Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC, said.
In the present system, passengers use single-journey tokens or travel smart cards that can be used for multiple journeys. The smart cards, however, are transferable and cannot be used to provide concession to a passenger.
However, in the new fare collection system, it will be possible to issue smart cards to individuals with their biometric data stored in them, ensuring that only they could use the card and not anyone else. Commuters, who will be provided concession on metro fares, need to get their finger scanned while entering or exiting a metro station, to ensure that only genuine commuters get the benefit of the concession.
“The current AFC system, adopted by DMRC in 2002, was one of the latest available in those days. However, technology is continuously evolving and with the passage of time, DMRC will be adapting to the latest available technology to keep pace with new developments emerging in the AFC systems,” Dayal added.