The Common Mobility Card Project

The Common Mobility Card Project​

By: Amit Bhushan Date: 1st May 2016

The Common Mobility Card Project for Delhi, seems to be a step in the right direction. The project goes on to show the possible benefits of technology as this would allow Pre-Paid deposit resources to be raised allowing to fund the project and extending the use of Card (which doesn’t entail any interconnect fees, unlike the bank cards) to extend convenience.

Most bus riders face challenges regards the need for "Change" which is coins and notes. The conductors also would be better off with a machine printed ticket rather than carrying bundles of different denominations and then reconciling the ticket-sales against cash. Money tendered needs to be counted several times before it reaches the account of the transport service provider with its attendant costs, which may not be easily fathomable. Such projects by the ruling regime in Delhi has potential to ameliorate some of the woes of people.

Let’s see if the same convenience is extended to ration-shops, medical hospitals and dispensaries, Milk Booths, Vegetable vends, Kendriya Bhandaars etc. The government ownership of Card infrastructure can be deployed to multiple uses whereby the revenue or service charge collection for the government has potential to improve.It may be noted that the central government or railways is also the other co-owner of the said Card under Delhi Metro project.

However, the railways has not been able to extend the use of the Card even for the local travel be it Mumbai Suburban travel of Delhi and other Cities local travel where ticket queues are ubiquitous, Change related woes are nearly same or worse and accounting of Cash is potentially even worse nightmare. Such cards could have been easily used for railways own cafes and food service (on travel), for the charges of bed linen, Yatri Niwaas rentals etc. By all accounts what seems to be the plan is some grandiose Railway revamp projects instead of numerous small steps which can be delivered faster.

Most undoubtedly this is likely to be reflected in the Municipal and other associated results. The government may have licensed multiple Payment Wallets and Banks, however they have been mostly slow in evolving a service culture within the organization that would catapult the initial usage and enhance benefits to people which then forms a way to extending service to other private sectors and improve the tax base and record of economic activity, which would set a direction of change allow work happening on multiple fronts.

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[Dhruv Bindhani]

The Common Mobility Card Project​

By: Amit Bhushan Date: 1st May 2016

The Common Mobility Card Project for Delhi, seems to be a step in the right direction. The project goes on to show the possible benefits of technology as this would allow Pre-Paid deposit resources to be raised allowing to fund the project and extending the use of Card (which doesn’t entail any interconnect fees, unlike the bank cards) to extend convenience.

Most bus riders face challenges regards the need for "Change" which is coins and notes. The conductors also would be better off with a machine printed ticket rather than carrying bundles of different denominations and then reconciling the ticket-sales against cash. Money tendered needs to be counted several times before it reaches the account of the transport service provider with its attendant costs, which may not be easily fathomable. Such projects by the ruling regime in Delhi has potential to ameliorate some of the woes of people.

Let’s see if the same convenience is extended to ration-shops, medical hospitals and dispensaries, Milk Booths, Vegetable vends, Kendriya Bhandaars etc. The government ownership of Card infrastructure can be deployed to multiple uses whereby the revenue or service charge collection for the government has potential to improve.It may be noted that the central government or railways is also the other co-owner of the said Card under Delhi Metro project.

However, the railways has not been able to extend the use of the Card even for the local travel be it Mumbai Suburban travel of Delhi and other Cities local travel where ticket queues are ubiquitous, Change related woes are nearly same or worse and accounting of Cash is potentially even worse nightmare. Such cards could have been easily used for railways own cafes and food service (on travel), for the charges of bed linen, Yatri Niwaas rentals etc. By all accounts what seems to be the plan is some grandiose Railway revamp projects instead of numerous small steps which can be delivered faster.

Most undoubtedly this is likely to be reflected in the Municipal and other associated results. The government may have licensed multiple Payment Wallets and Banks, however they have been mostly slow in evolving a service culture within the organization that would catapult the initial usage and enhance benefits to people which then forms a way to extending service to other private sectors and improve the tax base and record of economic activity, which would set a direction of change allow work happening on multiple fronts.

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Amit Bhushan's May 1, 2016, article, "The Common Mobility Card Project," hails Delhi's initiative as a positive step, recognizing technology's potential to streamline public services. The core benefit identified is the elimination of cash-related woes, such as the need for "change" for bus riders and the cumbersome cash reconciliation process for transport providers.

Broader Applications and Government Revenue​

Bhushan envisions the card's convenience extending beyond public transport to ration shops, hospitals, milk booths, and government-owned stores. He suggests that leveraging government-owned card infrastructure for multiple uses could significantly improve revenue and service charge collection for the government. He also notes the Central government's and Railways' co-ownership of the Delhi Metro card, highlighting the potential for broader integration.

Missed Opportunities by Railways​

A significant critique is directed at the Indian Railways for its failure to extend the card's use for local travel in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, where long ticket queues and cash-related issues persist. Bhushan points out that the card could have easily been utilized for railway cafes, food services, bed linen charges, and "Yatri Niwaas" rentals, lamenting the focus on "grandiose Railway revamp projects" instead of faster, smaller, impactful steps.

Slow Service Culture in Banks and Wallets​

The article also touches upon the general slowness of licensed payment wallets and banks in developing a service culture that would encourage initial usage and enhance benefits for people. This stagnation, Bhushan argues, hinders the extension of such services to other private sectors and prevents the improvement of the tax base and economic activity records. He concludes by emphasizing that while the project is a good start, a wider vision and faster implementation are needed to fully realize its potential benefits for the common man and the national economy.