LUCKNOW, Oct. 31 -- The urban transport directorate (UTD) under the urban development department (UDD) here signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday to launch the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) across public transport systems in 15 major cities of Uttar Pradesh. The move will allow commuters to pay bus fares digitally through a single card, expected to be operational within six months. The MoU was signed under the guidance of the principal secretary, UDD, following decisions taken during a meeting of the Fund Management Committee chaired by the chief secretary. Mahendra Bahadur Singh, director and special secretary, urban development department, signed the MoU on behalf of the UTD, while Dheeraj Kumar, deputy general manager, represented SBI. The UTD operates electric and CNG buses through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in 15 cities, Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Meerut, Agra, Mathura-Vrindavan, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, and Jhansi. With the rollout of the NCMC, commuters in these cities will be able to make cashless payments for bus fares using a single interoperable card. The card will be jointly issued by the UTD and SBI and will be available at SPV counters, with bus conductors, and through an online portal....