Deadline For Mandatory Mobility Smart Card In Buses Extended

03 Aug 2026 CW Team

Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced that the deadline for making the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) mandatory to avail concessional travel on State Transport (ST) buses has been extended to September one. The state offers free travel to senior citizens above the age of 75 and a 50 per cent fare concession to senior citizens and women. The NCMC requirement had been due to take effect from August one as part of a shift towards cashless ticketing and automated record keeping.

Officials said a large number of eligible passengers across the state had registered for the card but many senior citizens and women had not yet received it, prompting the government to push the deadline back by a month. The minister indicated that travel concessions are intended for the convenience of the common people and that eligible passengers should not face difficulty due to technical or procedural delays.

The NCMC will apply to several existing schemes including a 50 per cent discount for women under the Mahila Samman Scheme and a 50 per cent discount for passengers aged 65 to 75. It will also cover free travel for senior citizens above 75 under the Amrut Senior Citizen Scheme, monthly passes at a 66.67 per cent discount for school students and free passes for girl students up to Class 12 under the Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar Scheme.

Each NCMC card will be linked to an identity document specific to the beneficiary category, with students receiving cards mapped to their Saral numbers, senior citizens and women receiving Aadhaar linked cards and persons with disabilities issued cards linked to their UDID numbers. Concessional tickets will be deducted from the card wallet, which can be recharged using cash or UPI, and passengers travelling without the card will be charged full fare. The minister urged all eligible passengers to complete their NCMC registration at the earliest to avoid disruption to concessional travel.

Infrastructure Transport

03 Aug 2026

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