KOCHI:The ‘UTS on mobile’ app unveiled by the Railways to encourage digital payments has now started to evince a good response after encountering starting problems. According to a Railway officer, the app has become a hit with commuters. “As of now, the downloads in the Thiruvananthapuram Division has crossed 65,000. The revenue from the ‘UTS on mobile’ tickets is Rs 41,000 per day and on an average, around 7,800 use the Rwallet,” he said.
This has been a major turnaround in the app’s fortunes since, despite the hype, the users had initially encountered several difficulties and didn’t find it a hassle-free method to secure a ticket. However, a Railway officer said those were the initial glitches. “Many problems pointed out by the users have been solved. We are working to resolve the remaining issues,” he said, shrugging it off as routine for anything recently-launched.
Some of the problems faced by the users were the inability to log in, the time taken by the app to load and confusion over what will happen if the mobile’s battery charge runs out while the user is on the move.
According to the Railways’ customer care officer in Chennai, the user will need a high-speed Internet connection like 4G for the UTS app to function effectively. “The Railway server goes at a top speed, so if the user has a low-speed connection like 2G or 3G, they will find it difficult to log in. The user will have to upgrade their connection,” he said. Also, to book a ticket, the user will have to be within a five-km radius of the station.
But what if the mobile switches off mid-journey? The only solution is to ensure your phone has enough battery charge left, said the Railway officer. “Earlier , the Railways was quite lenient and considerate. But after numerous incidents of ticketless travel under the pretext of phones switching off mid-journey came to fore, the Railways decided to take stringent action,” said the officer.
However, if a user’s phone gets misplaced or lost, they can buy a new SIM and contact the Railways to get their ticket forwarded to the new mobile. “But all this have to be done before boarding the train,” he said.
He said, “A system where the TTR can enter the mobile phone number of the passenger into his tab to retrieve the ticket is on the anvil. All the passengers will have to do is give his phone number and present a valid ID card.”