ST union leader Barge says mandatory NCMC card burdens commuters in the name of concessions

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (ST) has made the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) smart card mandatory, and it is burdening ordinary commuters, Shrirang Barge, general secretary of the Maharashtra ST Karmachari Congress, has alleged. He said the scheme, introduced for passengers' convenience, has become a headache for both passengers and conductors because of the ST administration's faulty implementation.

According to Barge, under the Centre's "One Nation, One Card" idea, a single card should give access to metro, bus, toll plazas and other public transport services across the country. That, he said, is the real aim of the scheme, but the ST corporation has set the idea aside.

The ST corporation made the Rs 199 card mandatory for concession holders from April 1, 2026, and discontinued old passes from September 1. As a result, students, women and senior citizens are forced to buy the card to get concessions. Without the card, no concession is given. Barge called this compulsion an injustice imposed on ordinary commuters.

On network and recharge problems, Barge said: "The corporation has claimed one crore registrations by August 12. But villages have mobile network problems, cards cannot be recharged on e-ticket machines, and the balance left on the card is not shown either. Despite having the card, passengers do not get the concession, so they have to buy a ticket again. In this way they face a double financial burden."

He also said the ST card does not work on other public transport services, so passengers have to carry separate cards. By contrast, NCMC cards issued by banks work on many transport services. The limited usefulness of the ST card is adding to passengers' trouble, he said.

Barge alleged that the card, issued through eBixCash and NSDL Payments Bank, is meant to connect villagers with digital payments, but the ST corporation has used it only to keep account of the concession amount received from the government. He asked: "Instead of giving passengers convenience, forcing them, ignoring technical problems and making them spend separately for a concession, what kind of decision in passengers' interest is this?"

Citing the technical difficulties conductors face in implementing the scheme and the effect of the compulsion on the corporation's revenue, Barge demanded that the ST corporation immediately withdraw the mandate and make the card optional. He also wants it made available to ordinary passengers and made usable on Mumbai Metro, BEST, Pune Metro and other public transport services.

He said that continuing the compulsion until passengers get real benefit amounts to knowingly ignoring their financial loss. He appealed to the ST administration to decide immediately and give passengers relief.