Kochi Metro ties up with Axis Bank for ticket sales revenues
10 Jun 2015
Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) today said it had roped in Axis Bank as a private partner to manage its automated fare collection (AFC) system on a revenue sharing basis.
Axis Bank will invest in the hardware and software for managing the sale of tickets pay
Kochi Metro Rs.208 crore over the next 10 years besides undertaking the entire maintenance of AFC during the period.
Axis Bank will also issue co-branded cards to the users of Kochi Metro for paying the fares as well as using them as normal credit cards for purchasing merchandise including e-commerce.
KMRL will also be paid 0.2 per cent of Axis Bank's gross revenues from the utlilisation of co-branded pre-paid cards outside Kochi Metro system.
An agreement to this effect was today signed between KMRL and Axis Bank. Speaking on the occasion, Venkaiah Naidu said that the KMRL and Axis Bank tie up is a unique technological and business model innovation, the first of its kind in the world and beneficial to both.
He said that this initiative also helps in creating a cash-less system besides enabling financial inclusion. The minister asked KMRL to consider linking the co-branded pre-paid smart cards to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to deepen financial inclusion.
Naidu also asked secretary (urban development) to explore emulating Kochi Metro's innovation at other Metros in the country.
Kochi Metro is a joint venture of the governments of India and the Kerala state government and is being constructed at an approved cost of Rs5,181 crore.
KMRL has so far saved about Rs800 crore through innovative procurement processes. Of the project length of 25.612 kms, 18 km is scheduled to be commissioned by June, 2016 and the rest by June, 2017.
Axis Bank has formed as a consortium of service providers and will soon start work on installing AFC system.
