KOLKATA: Commuters will be able to use the same card to ride the East-West and North-South Metros.When the East-West Metro starts running early next year, a ‘common mobility card’ or the integrated ticketing system will be issued to commuters, so that those travelling on the North-South route don’t need to buy separate tickets.Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency of the Rs 8,575-crore East-West Metro project to connect Howrah Maidan with Salt Lake’s Sector V, will bear the cost of the mobility cards. The first phase of the East-West Metro will be commissioned next year between Sector V and Salt Lake stadium. Soon, the Metro will connect Phoolbagan station. Eventually, in 2021, East-West will be connected to the North-South route at Esplanade.“Keeping the eventuality in mind, we will start issuing the ‘common mobility card’ at the start of the commissioning. This will encourage more and more commuters to take the East-West Metro. They can board the trains with the card they bought at one of the six operational East-West stations or any of those on the North-South route,” an official said.The mobility card could later connect other modes of transport in the city, if the state government wishes, the official said. “The card can then be used to travel by state and CTC buses and trams,” he added.Earlier this month, close to a decade after it was first mooted, Delhi got its own common mobility card that can be used by commuters to travel by both Delhi Metro trains and staterun buses.KMRC will process requests for the appointment of a bank to manage the card and the financial transactions. “In case a commuter uses the mobility card at a North-South station, the transaction details will move to the server for clearance. Once it is cleared, it will reach the respective bank,” another official said.“We want to spare the passengers wasting time purchasing tickets on both Metro lines, which is likely to entail standing in queues to purchase tickets and smart cards. The new system will reduce ticket queues. This can also be done through a mobile application. East-West Metro is committed to provide the public with seamless and high quality travel,” he said. The card will be available as a hard copy with the option of being downloaded on a mobile application. Commuters will have to flash the mobility card on the screen of the automatic fare collection (AFC) to get the fare deducted.“We will put up ads to make the passengers aware of the service. It will save them time and hassle,” the official said. He said commuters must see both the East-West and the North-South lines in the same light — as parts of a well-integrated and seamless rapid transit system.