Travelling on various modes of public transport like Metro, bus and train may soon become hassle-free.

The Union Urban Development Ministry is working on a proposal to introduce an all India 'common mobility card' which will enable commuters to pay fares by swiping cards.

"The proposed all India Common Mobility Card would be a smart card providing for a common fare collection system across different operators (both Government and private) and different modes of public transport," Minister of State for UD Saugata Roy told Lok Sabha while replying to a question.

The funding pattern for the project would be different for different cities and the scheme is likely to become operational by next fiscal.

He said government plans to introduce the system for buses and metro trains initially and later it would be extended to other modes of public transport like trains and ferry as well as for parking.

The common mobility card would provide seamless connectivity across various transport modes, operators and cities in the country through a common fare collection system as envisaged in the national urban transport policy, Roy said.

The Minister said the scheme would initially be launched in all cities which were given financial assistance under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The Ministry has already engaged UTI Technology Services Ltd, a wholly owned company of the Government which functions under Ministry of Finance.