Delhi metro smart cards to have automatic recharge facility soon!

Metro 

New Delhi: Soon, Delhi Metro card recharge will become simpler! Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has signed an agreement with Anduril Technologies Private Ltd, a private technology company, in order to provide the new smart cards, which will get recharged automatically. 

A recent ToI report mentioned that the new electronically-rechargeable cards will get automatically updated when the user taps the card at the entry gate. Initially, this facility will be available on the new cards only, but will subsequently be added to the existing ones as well.

It may be noted that about 16-17 lakh daily commuters use metro smart cards and this facility will be a huge advantage for them. The new cards called ‘Autope’ may be rolled out next month, the national daily report added. In order to get the card, the customers will have to register themselves on the official app or website following which the cards will be home-delivered. 

As per the report, once the system stabilises, the facility will be added to the existing card holders as well. Anurag Bajpai, founder of Anduril Technologies private Ltd. was quoted in the report saying, “Waiting in a long queue is the biggest challenge a commuter faces at the stations. Although online recharges are prevalent, the card has to be presented to the add value machine (AVM) for top-ups. The new technology will allow auto recharge of the smart card as and when the value falls below a threshold.”

These new ones can be linked to any bank account unlike the co-branded cards offered by the banks. The company has already launched the new set for a closed user group for trial purpose. Bajpai further told that the official launch is scheduled in mid-July. Aside from Delhi Metro, this feature will be rolled out in Mumbai and other metro networks as well.

Worth mentioning here is that the central government is all set to unveil a new smart card that can be used across all metro rail networks for a limited number of trips. Users will just have to charge them at the counter before using them. The urban affairs ministry has given CDAC the task of coming up with specifications for these new cards.