Community-made apps step up to simplify metro rail travel
Two apps currently offer features such as checking balance, recent trip details, train schedule, and fare calculation. But without authorities’ help, features like digital recharging and tracking live location of trains cannot be included
Aniruddha Adhikary is a software engineer based in Singapore. As a non-resident Bangladeshi who loves the Dhaka MRT system, he never misses a chance to ride it. One day while at a station in Dhaka, he realised that he did not know whether he had enough balance on his transit card for the trip.
"I worried about the embarrassment of not having enough balance on my card when exiting. But I didn't want to queue up for the vending machine either. This made me wonder if the balance could be read directly from the card, similar to Japanese stored value cards," he told The Business Standard.
Passengers often face similar hurdles like Aniruddha everyday at the metro stations.
The metro rail has a capacity to carry 500,000 passengers a day, but it currently transports approximately 270,000 passengers on an average daily.
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While most passengers initially relied on single tickets, often enduring long waits at the counter, many are now turning to personal passes to alleviate this inconvenience. According to recent government data, 52% of regular commuters now use their own Rapid Pass or MRT Pass for travel.
But no one knows how much balance is left on their cards. If it turns out to be insufficient while scanning, they have to go back to the counter to recharge.
Aniruddha then embarked on an experimental project to solve the problem he faced with his 'MRT Buddy' app.
"Back home, I began experimenting with reading the card to find the balance. After several attempts, I successfully found it," he continued.
He then transformed this experiment into an Android app and shared a demo video publicly. Soon after, he released both the complete code and the app. "I set out to design an app experience that would closely resemble the ones I had encountered during my travels in various countries," he said.
The app leverages reverse engineering and official documentation from Apple, Google, and Sony.
It currently offers features such as checking balance and recent trip details, storing trip data locally on the phone, viewing MRT system maps, and checking fares. The best part is that the app remains free of ads, collects no data, and is not monetised to ensure it always serves the public interest.
However, it is important to note that the MRT Buddy app works only on NFC-enabled smartphones, as it requires NFC (near-field communication) support to communicate with your card. If your device supports NFC, simply enable it in your phone settings. If your device does not, you will see a message saying, "Your device isn't compatible with this version."
According to Aniruddha, future plans include features like usage statistics, journey planners, and more. "The vision has been to provide Bangladeshi metro rail users with a high-tech experience that rivals, if not surpasses, those of overseas systems," he said.
Though this project had no involvement of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Aniruddha received help from more than 15 individuals while building the app.
"Since the code is open source, anyone can propose changes — and many good Samaritans have stepped forward to improve it. We have a healthy mix of professionals and students contributing to the app. To summarise, Bangladeshi youth created this app," Aniruddha added.
The app is now available on Google Play Store and has received tremendous response in a short period of time. It has already been downloaded 10,000 times and received 345 reviews, mostly positive. The current overall rating of the app on the store is 4.8 out of 5.
Prince Hasan, an MRT user, wrote in his review, "MRT Buddy is an essential app for Bangladesh Metro Rail users, providing a seamless way to check card balances and view transaction histories instantly using NFC technology. With no need for an internet connection, the app ensures efficient offline functionality, making it highly reliable. Its intuitive interface, along with detailed station information and transaction timestamps, adds significant convenience for commuters. It's a must-have app for frequent metro travelers."
Asked if he had any plans to collaborate with DMTCL, Aniruddha said, "The app's primary objective is to address user needs until they launch their official app. The code is open source, thus DMTCL or any authorised organisation can take our code and use it as a foundation if they wish to. However, legally they must give credit to the original authors. Purchase isn't necessary at all."
There is another app like MRT Buddy that provides similar services, named 'Dhaka Metro Rail'. Initially, a social media group named 'Metro Rail Passengers Community-Dhaka' was launched to answer queries related to the service.
Mohammad Naim Islam Sohag, a passenger who used the metro rail regularly, was behind this platform. However, a Facebook group alone was not enough, so Sohag developed a mobile app.
The app offers features such as fare calculation, nearest station information, card balance, train schedule, lost and found services, hotline, MRT police, tourist guide, bus routes, and various FAQs. Unlike MRT Buddy, the card and balance service in this app is available on both NFC-enabled phones and regular smartphones.
Sohag mentioned that the metro rail authorities welcomed their app but have not officially approved it yet. They are working to obtain formal approval.
However, users call for additional features such as the ability to recharge the Rapid Pass or MRT Pass via the mobile app, or tracking the live locations of trains. None of the two apps provide these features.
A regular commuter on the Metro Rail's Farmgate to Uttara South route, Farhana, said, "It would have been great if there was an option to recharge through the app. Most days, I'm in a hurry to go to the office. If there was an option to recharge through the app or mobile banking, I could have easily recharged from home."
Aniruddha pointed out that such services are implementable only by DMTCL and DTCA due to technical and legal limitations.
