NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, via video conferencing launched “National Common Mobility Card” (NCMC), under his “One Nation One Mobility Card” initiative, on December 28, 2020. NCMC will serve as an automatic fare collection (AFC) system for Delhi Metro’s Airport Express Line, and will eventually be made available across the whole network of Delhi Metro. NCMC will allow passengers with RuPay debit cards, issued in the last 18 months by 23 banks to be swiped for Metro travels. The launch of NCMC cards has come alongside the inauguration of first driverless metro train on the Magenta line of the Delhi Metro.
The difference between NCMC cards and other metro cards is that NCMC cards can be used across all transit systems. This service will enable passengers from any part of the country to use their NCMC-compliant RuPay debit card for seamless travel. It can also be used for shopping, banking transactions and other services. NCMC will enable interoperability between all the new metros and transit systems. When it will become widely adopted, AFC system will be kick-started to reduce the use of cash transactions. However, at present, it can only be used at the Delhi Airport Express Line.