Now conductors will top up NCMC cards on ST buses, easing travel for women, elderly
The State Transport Corporation has shifted NCMC card top-up duty to bus conductors, ending long queues at depots for women and elderly passengers.
On the very first day of Ganpati Bappa's arrival, the State Transport Corporation (ST) gave its passengers a major relief. Passengers using the NCMC card facility will now be able to recharge their card's top-up while travelling on the bus itself, and this will be done by the bus conductor.
The ST Corporation had made the NCMC card mandatory from September 1 for women and elderly passengers aged 65 to 75 to avail the facility. But after this, passengers faced a new problem. Passengers whose cards did not have sufficient balance had to make repeated trips to the depot or designated centres to recharge. Several times, the balance would run out at the last moment, forcing passengers to buy a full ticket instead of using the facility.
At some places, passengers were even made to get off the bus because they did not have change. Considering this difficulty, the Corporation has now handed over the responsibility of top-up directly to the conductors. This means passengers can now get money loaded into the card during the journey itself, as needed, without having to run around separately for a recharge.
The difficulty passengers had been facing for the past nearly two weeks has now ended during this very period of Ganeshotsav. During Ganeshotsav, there is heavy crowding of passengers on ST buses, and at such a time, a recharge problem could have caused a major commotion. But with this facility starting, this obstacle to travel will be removed, and the Corporation's revenue is also expected to see a good increase.
Apart from this facility available from the conductor, passengers can also top up their NCMC card from home through the BHIM app. For this, the QR code given on the back of the card will need to be used. This has made it easier for passengers who use digital payments to load money into the card from home.
Until now, when the balance ran out, passengers had to go to the depot or other centres to recharge the card, which caused them a lot of running around. Now, with the facility of top-up directly from the conductor, this running around will end completely. Women and elderly passengers will get the chance to load the required amount during the journey itself, making it easier for them to avail the facility.
