Passengers can soon make UPI payments to buy tickets in Mangaluru City buses, says Association president

Mangaluru city buses to accept UPI payments for tickets, introduce DKBOA Student Cards with discounts and digital initiatives.

Passengers travelling in private Mangaluru city buses can soon buy tickets through unified payments interface (UPI) platforms, said Dakshina Kannada District Bus Owners Association President Aziz Parthipady.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, June 15, Mr. Parthipady said the DKBOA which represents private city bus owners of Mangaluru, has been at the forefront of implementing digital initiatives. The Chalo Cashless cards introduced three years ago would be converted into DKBOA Student Cards as a part of the continued digital initiative, he said.

UPI payments to buy bus tickets and rationalisation of bus timings were the other plans of the digital initiative in association with Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., which is working on smart transport system, Mr. Parthypady said.

Speaking about the DKBOA Student Card, the president said students would continue to get a 60% discount on the travel fare while the general public would get a 10% discount on the prepaid card. Under this system, students may buy passes for 40 or 50 trips between their places of residence and education. The cards would be provided free of cost to students from the DKBOA office at Milagres Building, City Light Building, and Sagar Tourists in Hampanakatte, Sai Mobile near Surathkal Bus Stand and Anu Mobile near Thokkottu Bus Stand.

Mr. Parthipady said the association has been offering concessional travel to students for the last 43 years. Over 7.21 lakh students have availed concession to a tune of ₹16.11 crore so far, he said.

Meanwhile, the association has issued strict directions to the crew to follow all the safety and regulatory norms while operating the city buses. They should compulsorily wear uniforms, not use shrill horns and music systems, halt buses at the bus bays wherever available, and behave in a courteous manner with passengers. They are told to behave politely with students and to accept the Student Card.

Association secretary Ramachandra Pilar, vice president K. Ramachandra Nayak, former president Dilraj Alva, and others were present.