Over 1.2L beneficiaries register for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s mobility card

Nashik: More than 1.2 lakh beneficiaries of various schemes of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) have, so far, registered for the national common mobility card (NCMC), the officials said.The registration process received a strong response across the state from beneficiaries, including senior citizens, women travellers, and students who receive pass concessions based on their admissions to academic institutes.According to a senior officer from the central office of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in Mumbai, "More than 1.3 lakh beneficiaries have registered with the MSRTC so far, and more than 44,100 of them are women. The registration cost is Rs 199 for every person, and in future, all concessions will be routed through the card for transparency."The MSRTC offers a 50% concession for women travellers, 50% for travellers between 65 and 75 years of age, free transportation for those above 75 years of age, and 66.67% for students with a monthly pass.Officials said about 41,300 senior citizens have registered for the 50% travel concessions, about 32,500 have registered for free travel, and about 3,000 other people have registered for concessions."The MSRTC has a ‘Travel Where You Like' scheme in which a specific amount is charged from the passengers to travel by the state transport buses across the state for the four or eight days as they like. For this too, the mobility card is required," the officer said.MSRTC officials said students still have not registered for the card as it is currently the end of the academic year, and they would have to enrol next year.Officials said it is a one-time registration and the minimum balance required was Rs 100.They also said people are making queues outside MSRTC offices for the cards, and MSRTC plans to increase the number of vendors to issue the cards. Officials said that though the cards would be necessary for concessions in future, it is currently not mandatory.