NASHIK: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has launched the smart card scheme, and so far, 81,462 passengers have registered for Smart Card in Nashik division to avail of concession. Out of them, 73,027 cards have already been distributed. A total of 56,000 senior citizens and 24,813 students got the smart card. The Smart Card will be mandatory from April 1, 2021.
The cards have been divided into separate categories that include school students, senior citizens, general, and others. A total of 28 types of concessions, including senior citizens, are getting 30 to 100 percent discount on ticket price. The government pays crores of rupees to the corporation every year to compensate for this concession.
The state government introduced a smart card system to bring coherence and transparency in the concession system. In June 2019, the Smart Card Scheme was launched by the corporation. However, due to confusion over aadhaar linking, technical issues, lengthy process of smart card registration, the passengers were far away from the smart card.
Therefore, extensions were given by the corporation till December 31, 2019, and then March 31, 2020. The deadline has now been extended to March 31, 2021, in the wake of the Covid-19 and lockdown. If this period is maintained, it will be mandatory for passengers to show the smart card while traveling from April 1, 2021. A total of 81,462 passengers registered for smart cards in the department. Out of those, 73,027 cards have been distributed to the passengers.
