Chalo cards in Dakshin, Udupi city buses

MANGALURU: From November 1, a tie-up that the bus operators in DK and Udupi have entered with technology provider Chalo will see commuters save up to 75% of their monthly commuting cost by opting to buy the Chalo card that works on near field communication (NFC) technology, making transactions touch less and digital. The cards should be fully functional from November 15.
With 405 city buses registered in DK and Udupi, the Chalo card will help the cities keep pace with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Digital India, Dilraj Alva, president, Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators Association, says.The situation is gradually returning to normal and around 90% of buses are now operational, he said.
Use of Chalo cards will add to Covid-19 hygiene and make 95% of transactions cashless and buses safer, Alva said. Most of the bus operators have opted to use the same, Alva said . Deep discounts that operators have thrown in will make it attractive to commuters, he said.
Citing an example, Santosh Deshpande, senior manager, Chalo said a daily commuter who normally pays a one-way ticket in the price range of up to Rs 10 needs to pay Rs 399 for 100 trips in 28 days or Rs 109 for 21 trips in 7 days. The Chalo card will permit the card holder to make a maximum of four trips per day. For the price that one pays for a 28-day card, the saving is 61% and the savings range up to 75% based on the price ticket range, he said.
The card amount does not permit a holder to travel for a distance beyond the one-way ticket price range. However, if one purchases a card in the higher one-way price range, they can travel in the intermediate price range slabs subject to 100 trips and four trips per day.