Similar to the decision of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) of Chennai, fka Pallavan has also decided to implement a QR Code-based cashless ticketing mechanism on its buses.
The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu Minister of Transport M R Vijayabhaskar on 1 June 2020 via Twitter.
In his tweet, Vijayabhaskar has said that QR-code based cashless transactions were now permitted and that a trial run had begun using Paytm. According to a report by The Hindu, the two buses were both bound for the Secretariat at Georgetown with one originating at Thyagaraya Nagar (T Nagar) and the other at Todhunter Nagar in Saidapet.
Officials at MTC have said that once more buses hit the street, the system will be extended to them as well. Commuters can use any UPI-based payment app such as Google Pay/Tez, Paytm, PhonePe, KhaaliJeb or their bank app.
The system is very similar to the system that the BMTC has set-up, which is essentially only for cashless transactions and not cashless ticketing.
While the immediate side-effect of this would be an increase in UPI adoption across Chennai, it will still remain a time-consuming method. In the long run, the state government has to promote the National Common Mobility Card as a means to go forward.
One hopes that the MTC’s parent body, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) starts extending this to other cities including Coimbatore, Trichy and Madurai.
For UPI platforms, this is a golden opportunity to expand their footprint. While the better known apps like BHIM, PhonePe, Google Pay (formerly Tez) and Paytm have managed to get a market of their own, smaller niche apps like KhaaliJeb can make an impact here. KhaaliJeb (literally Empty Pocket in Hindi) is a UPI-based payments app designed for students. According the developers, the app has a student loyalty that will offer them discounts from merchants while also allowing them to split expenses. Given Chennai and Coimbatore’s status as educational hubs, this is the right time for such apps to strike gold.
If all goes well, it might seem like the Pallavan Kollavan (Killer Pallavan) tag might actually refer to cash.
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Featured image: An MTC bus belonging to the Central Depot on Route 21G from Broadway to Tambaram Railway Station. (Photo credits: VtTN on the Wikimedia Commons).
