As per plans, at least 100 buses on the 5.2-km corridor would have conductors operating hand-held simputers. The idea, DTC chairman Ramesh Negi said, is to cut out the “manual ticket” method. The new tickets, he said, would be “more like computerised receipts”.

The ticket would carry details such as the stops between which a passenger is to commute, the route, and the ticket rate among others, Negi said. “The machine will store all this information. This will help both passengers and DTC — commuters would not be cheated, and the DTC will get information on commuter trends, routes that carry more traffic, and earnings per kilometre.”

Besides, the ticket will not be re-usable, he said.

In 2004, the DTC had set up these machines in some buses, including the high-capacity buses plying between Hauz Khas and Shivaji Stadium, to check the system’s feasibility. The Corporation recently cleared the proposal to formally introduce the system.

Initially installed in 100 buses along the corridor, the system would be introduced in 1,000 more buses within two months, Negi said. A Chinese-Indian private consortium will supply the machines free of cost, he added.

The firm will be allowed to generate revenue by using the other side of the ticket to display own advertisements.