CHENNAI: In a move towards enhancing common mobility, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) launched the Singara Chennai card on Monday. This prepaid National Common Mobility Card allows passengers to seamlessly pay for bus tickets by simply tapping the card and it can also be used for travel on the Chennai Metro Rail.
Transport Minister SS Sivasankar inaugurated the Singara Chennai card, issued by the State Bank of India, during a ceremony at MTC's Central Bus Depot.
During the launch, MTC Managing Director Alby John Varghese highlighted that unlike the challenges often encountered with UPI or card-based payments—such as network issues —the Singara Chennai card offers a much more convenient payment method.
“We will distribute 50,000 Singara Chennai cards free of charge to passengers as part of a promotional offer, available through 20 bus pass counters. Passengers will need to top up the card at the counter or online to use it for ticket fare payments,” he explained.
He also noted that since the introduction of electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) in February of last year, 99.9 per cent of ticketing had been conducted through these machines, significantly reducing the workload for conductors.
To further facilitate passenger travel, the MTC is promoting digital payments, which currently account for 1.6 per cent of all transactions. Additionally, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has issued four lakh NCMC cards, which can be used for travel on both MTC buses and the metro system.