Express News Service
CHENNAI: The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) plans to introduce a contactless card modeled after the Oyster Card used to pay for public transport in London.
To this end, CUMTA has appointed Transport for London (TFL), the local government body responsible for most of London’s transport network, and TFL officials visited Chennai last week.
“TFL will help come up with a comprehensive mobility plan, integrated ticketing and digital Chennai where all the plans of agencies working in the mobility sector would be brought together,” CUMTA Special Officer I Jaykumar said. “We are looking at different options,” he said.
Chennai Metro has a contactless card and Jayakumar has not ruled out using it. Chennai Metro has a closed loop deposit card. “CUMTA is working towards an open-loop card that will be a co-designed card with any banking partner. It can be used like a debit card,” he said. CUMTA is also awaiting approval from the Railway Board. “Indian Railways has to take a political decision as it is a financial and technical data exchange,” he added.
Details of the appointment of a transaction advisor have been shared with TFL. “Once they give us the proposals, we will publish the tender next week,” he said. Jayakumar also said that a consultant to prepare a revised comprehensive mobility plan would be finalized in January.
On the partnership with TFL, Jayakumar said TFL will provide inputs for the first three months to fine-tune the CMP tender. They will then spend the next 18 to 24 months helping to prepare a revised comprehensive mobility plan. In addition, it will also help in setting up a Chennai digital platform where all stakeholders’ data and plans will be stored.