Nagpur celebrates India’s 78th Independence Day by reiterating the city’s vision of becoming a smart and digitally empowered urban space. This week from 12 August to 17 August, the city will observe “Freedom From Cash Week” on Aapli Buses to promote the digitization of public transport. This initiative has been undertaken by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to spread awareness about the digital services recently made available in the Aapli buses to improve passenger experience.
The primary objective of observing ““Freedom From Cash Week”” is to encourage more citizens to take advantage of these digital solutions like live bus tracking, mobile ticket, online pass application, as well as the UPI payment feature to pay for their daily commute. Passengers can avail of these services by downloading the Chalo App on their mobile. Throughout the week, the NMC will encourage Aapli Bus passengers to go digital by deploying staff at bus stops and terminals to guide them on making the most of these services. User feedback and suggestions will also be collected to improve services and address any issues.
Recently, the NMC also conducted a Digital Day Drive which garnered an extremely positive response from Aapli Bus passengers and Nagpurians as a whole. The new system has been well-received as it makes payments immensely easy and quick. Following this drive, digital payments in Aapli Buses have seen a significant jump of 25% in the past week. NMC hopes to replicate this success with “Freedom From Cash Week”, as more passengers realize the convenience, efficiency, and security that come with digital options.
As Nagpur continues to adopt digital solutions especially in public transport, citizens can look forward to better, hassle-free commutes with numerous benefits, including reducing their wait times at bus stops, choosing less crowded buses, and eliminating the need for carrying exact change for their bus tickets. In this drive around 150 team members of IBTM Operator of Transport Department to contribute his efforts to interact with the passengers of the City Bus.
Shri. Ganesh Rathod, Transport Manager, NMC has appealed to the people of Nagpur to take advantage of this opportunity.