The MSRTC NCMC card will become mandatory for eligible senior citizens and women passengers seeking concessionary fares on Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses from 1 October 2026, with registration and distribution already under way at bus depots and stations across the state.
The Maharashtra state transport undertaking has decided that concessionary tickets for Amrut senior citizens, senior citizens and women passengers will be issued through the National Common Mobility Card system from that date. The move is intended to make the administration of concessionary travel more streamlined and digital, according to the report.
Passengers who already have an active NCMC card, or possess a registration receipt carrying a QR code, will be eligible to receive the concession. Those who register for the card will be able to show the QR-coded receipt to the conductor, who can scan it on the electronic ticketing machine before issuing a concessionary ticket.
The registration receipt will remain valid for 30 days. During this period, passengers will have to activate the NCMC card and add money to it through a top-up. The arrangement is intended to provide a transition period for passengers who have completed registration but have not yet received or activated their physical card.
E-Bix Technologies Limited has been appointed to register and distribute the cards at MSRTC bus stations and depots, as well as through authorised agents operating outside depot premises. This will allow eligible passengers to complete the process at the nearest authorised centre, although the report does not specify the number or location of all such centres.
The card can be topped up through the BHIM app. Passengers can scan the QR code printed on the back of the NCMC card using the app to add money. The system therefore links eligibility for a concessionary ticket to a card-registration process as well as to the card’s activation and balance-management arrangements.
MSRTC has also created an alternative registration method for eligible beneficiaries who face difficulties because their fingerprints do not register against Aadhaar biometric authentication. Under the alternative process, registration can be completed using a one-time password sent to the mobile number linked to the passenger’s Aadhaar card.
The change places a time-bound requirement on passengers who depend on concessionary fares: they must complete NCMC registration before 1 October or carry a valid QR-coded registration receipt during the transition period. MSRTC’s stated next step is to continue registration and card distribution through its depots, bus stations and authorised agents ahead of the new ticketing requirement.
