Shimla: The Himachal Road Transport Corporation is set to roll out the ‘Him Bus Plus Card’, an integrated smart card designed to combine all existing travel, discount, and concessional passes into a single digital platform. The process to launch the service has reached its final stage.
According to HRTC, the common smart card aims to eliminate the need for passengers to carry multiple physical cards. The completely digital card will securely store the holder’s personal details, travel history, identity verification, booking data, and payment information within a unified system.
The management expects the digital ticketing setup to make ticket verification more transparent while curbing fake cards and misuse. It will also simplify the workload for bus conductors and significantly reduce ticketing time.
Under the proposed plan, the card fee is set at Re 1 per day. Pass holders will receive up to a 5% discount on travel across all categories, while senior citizens are proposed to get concessions of up to 15%. Additionally, frequent commuters will earn extra benefits based on their travel frequency, a move HRTC hopes will encourage public transit use over private vehicles.
Once implemented, standard travel cards, monthly passes, student passes, employee passes, and other existing concessional cards will be merged into this unified smart card.
HRTC officials stated that the ‘Him Bus Plus Card’ will be implemented across Himachal Pradesh in a phased manner. Technical preparations are near completion, and a pilot project is expected to launch shortly to ensure smooth operations and improved revenue management.
