On The Anvil: QR Code Tickets And Automatic Fare Collection System On Delhi-Meerut RRTS

The Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor will have automatic fare collection (AFC) system and QR code tickets for commuters.

National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has invited bids under the government's 'Make-in-India' guidelines in procuring the AFC system.

The AFC system makes a big difference in the way commuters travel in the modern transit system. According to the NCRTC, the contactless way of entry/exit will be seamless, easy, comfortable, and quick.

Taking a step ahead in this direction, NCRTC has adopted the latest technology and innovative procurement method. It added that a commuter will also have the option to use QR code tickets which can be generated digitally on an NCRTC mobile app or its website.

Similar to the Delhi Metro's token system, the commuters will also be able to purchase paper QR tickets from ticket vending machines for a single journey between two stations.

The country's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will also allow EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) Open Loop contactless cards based on National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) standards.

The RRTS commuters will be able to use any NCMC card issued by any Metro or transport authority or financial institutions in the country. The bid for the AFC system is based on the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), the NCRTC said.

Under the HAM model, the system integrator will be selected first for installation activities and afterwards a financial institution will be selected for issuance and acquiring services.

In other metros where the procurement was done through PPP model, a consortium of system integrators and financial institutions used to carry out the work of installation of AFC system and issuance/acquiring of cards.

The NCRTC will implement two levels of AFC media validation — one at the concourse level and the second on the platform level. The platform-level AFC gates provide access to the executive lounge for boarding the business class coach.

NCRTC is a joint venture company between the Central government and state governments of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

Earlier, NCRTC had announced that as part of its energy management policy, it will use clean energy for the RRTS corridor that will ensure reduction in expenditure on electricity and significantly lesser CO2 emissions.