 "DMRC hires top consulting co for integration of metro services, e-commerce")
The Delhi Metro has set the ball rolling on a visionary project that seeks to integrate its regular services with e-commerce via cutting-edge digital platforms, with the DMRC hiring a top consulting firm to work on the plan, official sources said.
According to the vision, for instance, a rider may be able to order a product online while travelling in a metro train and will be able to get it at the destination station through advanced digital platforms of the urban transporter.
"We have started working on this vision, and a top consulting firm, McKinsey, has been hired to work on the plan that we have envisioned," a top official source told PTI.
However, the project is still in its "infancy" and this is just a broader vision to upgrade our digital platforms so that commuters can also access e-commerce services while riding a Delhi Metro train, he said.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had recently launched its revamped website and mobile app, giving commuters more facilities and ease while using metro services.
DMRC chief Mangu Singh, at the launch, had also said that the urban transporter is planning to integrate its digital platforms with "e-commerce in a big way" to allow commuters to get other services in the course of their journey.
"In the next two-three years, we think this is likely to go on a next level," he had said.
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According to sources, the plan is to let a commuter also access e-commerce services via DMRC digital platforms while on the go.
"According to the vision, once a commuter ends his or her journey, the order placed, say for grocery or something else, can be completed at the destination station, where there could be arrangements for say, a digital locker, which could be accessed with an OTP received on mobile or something like that. Though, it's all in infant stage as of now," the source said.
The DMRC had earlier claimed that it's upgraded website is "among the world's most feature-rich and advanced" interactive digital platforms on metro railway.
Riders of Delhi Metro, using its newly-revamped mobile application, can now get a prior alert notification when the next station on the route of the train journey is their destination, officials said.
Also, using the newly-upgraded website, anyone can get real-time information on their planned journey route, including as to whether if their is any snag or interruption on the route ahead, and will even suggest an alternative route.
Giving a major push to 'Digital India', Delhi Metro has started the process to upgrade all its existing Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems to be compliant with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services, and the work is expected to be completed by June 2023.
The DMRC has entered into a contract with a consortium for executing the NCMC along with upgrade of complete ecosystem consisting of AFC system which will also enable travel though "QR-based tickets, account based ticket and near field communications (NFC) media," the DMRC said on Friday.
On December 28 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the NCMC services on the Airport Express Line.
This service also enables passengers from any part of the country to use their NCMC-compliant RuPay debit card for seamless travel. The same card can also be used for shopping, banking transactions etc., across the country.
DMRC's system will be able to accept transactions from 23 banks through the RuPay debit card issued by them, officials had then said.