Server down, commuters suffer

The much-hyped National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), launched by the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) under its “Celebrating 50 Glorious Years” campaign, has become a source of frustration rather than convenience for bus commuters in Sirmaur district.

Introduced as a Rs 100 prepaid smart card aimed at simplifying fare payments in HRTC buses, the NCMC was billed as a future-ready tool — usable not only across state-run buses in Himachal Pradesh but also in Delhi and Mumbai metro networks and even at airports across the country. However, on the ground in Sirmaur, the system has proven to be unreliable and ineffective.

Commuters report that for several weeks now, the NCMC has consistently failed to function on the ticketing machines used by bus conductors. A recurring “server down” error prevents passengers from using their cards at the time of ticket payment.

What has particularly irked users is that, while the NCMC often fails, regular ATM cards issued by various banks are working seamlessly on the same machines. This inconsistency has raised serious questions about the effectiveness and reliability of the NCMC system.

“I have several thousand rupees loaded onto my NCMC card, but every time I try to use it, the conductor’s machine shows a server issue,” said a daily commuter who travels regularly between rural and urban areas of Sirmaur. Another passenger echoed the sentiment: “The concept was good, but the execution has been poor. The card has ended up being more of a hassle than a help.”

Despite the initial fanfare and extensive publicity around the card’s launch, the lack of technical support and server maintenance is undermining the initiative’s credibility. Regular users are now urging HRTC to fix the server and software issues immediately to restore public trust in the prepaid smart card system.

HRTC Nahan Regional Manager Ram Dyal acknowledged the issue, attributing it to server downtime. “There is no fault with the cards themselves,” he clarified. He added that a proposal will soon be sent seeking permission to allow conductors to manually offer eligible fare discounts to NCMC cardholders in the event of server failure.

Himachal Tribune