Bengaluru Metro to Join ONDC, Offering Seamless Booking for Metro, Cabs, and Buses:

Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Bengaluru Metro commuters could soon have the benefit of an integrated journey experience when the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) goes live next month with integrating into the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform. Commuters would be able to move seamlessly from one point to another without breaking their journey.

With the new system, commuters would be able to book tickets for the metro, recharge their smart cards, and even plan their last-mile rides via auto-rickshaws or taxis through a single app.

Streamlined Mobility in One App

With such integration to take place:

Auto rickshaw and taxi services will be merged with Metro ticketing for ease of use.

Metro tickets will be obtainable via the Rapido and Namma Yatri apps as well as through RedBus.

Metro train timing information and ticketing will also be accessible via Google Maps, which already provides Metro train timings.

SequelString is undertaking for BMRCL the proof-of-concept project integrating QR ticketing with ONDC that is subsequently planned for integration with Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS).

Comparison with existing Services

Since November 2022, QR-based booking of tickets for the Bengaluru Metro has been available through WhatsApp services and is supported in the Meta ecosystem. Unlike other available services, first and last mile travel integration is not in the offering with this service.

Expansion and Metro Ridership in India

After Delhi, Bengaluru Metro which is 76 kilometers long, is the Second largest Operational metro in India with a daily riding capacity of 8 Lakh commuters.

Bengaluru Metro has a ridership composition of

49% smart card users
25% QR ticket buyers
26% Token users

The Growth of Metros in India Adapted to Technology now surpasses 1000 KMacross 11 States, 23 cities and over 1 Crore users daily.