Mumbai, April 30: In view of the coronavirus outbreak in India, the government is planning contactless commuting for travel on metros, once the services resume after the nationwide lockdown. The government is planning to allow the use of only individual smart cards for travel on metros. According to a Hindustan Times report, the reason why authorities are planning to not use tokens for metro rides is keeping in mind that commuters have to purchase them for single journeys at ticket counters which often lead to long queues.

The magnetic-strip smart cards, on the other hand, can be recharged and they allow automatic fare collection at access gates. This is part of the several measures which the centre plans to introduce for metro travel after services resume. The other measures reportedly will also look into how to manage space between passengers, their screening and managing crowd at stations to control the spread of coronavirus. India’s COVID-19 Count Rises to 33,050 With 1,718 New Cases in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll Jumps to 1074.

India's COVID-19 count crossed 33,000 mark on Thursday with 1718 new cases and  67 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The total number of cases so far stands at 33,050 and with a death toll of 1,074. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with a total of 9,915 cases and 432 people have died so far. Delhi, on the other hand, has recorded 3439 cases and a death toll of 56.

India is currently in the middle of the second phase of the nationwide lockdown, which is expected to be removed on May 3. However, speculations are high that the lockdown might be extended keeping in view the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. It has been more than a month that train services, including metro, have been stopped in the nation to keep a check on the novel coronavirus cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2020 10:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).