The metro rail authorities have stopped issuing new MRT Passes and started selling over-the-counter Rapid Passes at the stations on Saturday.
However, the existing MRT passes that have already been issued will remain valid until its holders require it to be replaced due to damages or for other reasons, sources said.
They said all the MRT passes would gradually be replaced with the all-purpose Rapid Passes.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) and Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) are expected to sign an agreement in this regard soon, sources said.
To replace the cards, they said, the DTCA has already started upgrading the system, following which the metro station ticket counters will issue only the Rapid Pass - a ticket that was introduced earlier for use in all modes of transports.
The DMTCL on its official facebook page, however, posted on Friday that the issuance of MRT Pass or renewal of the damaged ones will remain suspended for a week due to unavoidable circumstances.Sources, however, said it was due to upgrading the system, and a notice was issued, saying: "No sale of MRT Pass at stations."
Meanwhile, the DMTCL bought 20,000 pieces of MRT Pass, which it said, for an interim period as many users lost their cards and applied for reissuance. But, the applicants would be provided with the Rapid Pass to avoid the hazards of replacing it again.
Presently, the Rapid Pass is being sold from a corner of the metro stations as the DMTCL has so far not allowed the DTCA to sell it from the counters.
The DMTCL wanted to popularise MRT Pass but the DTCA is entitled to make Rapid Pass acceptable to all transports including MRTs as the clearing house of the government.
The DTCA has already imported 400,000 Rapid Passes to support the MRT 6.
According to the DMTCL and DTCA, daily sales of MRT and Rapid pass for the metro rail is around 3,000 while daily riders in the first metro rail corridor cross 350,000. Apart from recharged cards, the DMTCL has single journey cards.
After the Rapid Pass was officially launched in 2018, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation started using the pass in its few routes, including circular buses in Gulshan and Hatirjheel areas.
A DTCA official said it has also planned to turn the Rapid Pass into an all purpose card like credit card and utility bill payment card, apart from using it in all transports.
The MRT pass was issued with a security deposit of Tk 200 each which is refundable.
But the DMTCL officials said a significant number of MRT Passes were lost, missing or damaged which have been reissued with security deposit of Tk 200 and a processing fee of Tk 200 each.
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