THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The State Road Transport Corporation will implement fully computerised ticket service during this Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilakku season. For the first time, the corporation will ply 10 electric bus services from Nilakkal to Pampa. Tickets will have to be purchased online or from the KSRTC counters at Nilakkal. Devotees can reserve bus tickets on the website of the Kerala Police while booking the virtual queue facility for darshan. At Pampa, 15 self-service ticket kiosks will be established for devotees.
As many as 15 ticket counters will be arranged at Pampa and Nilakkal. Tickets can be booked via cash, debit and credit card. The buses operating on the Nilakkal-Pampa corridor will not have conductors and entry will be on validation of QR code. The code will be connected to the central server to monitor the crowd in Sabarimala.
The AC buses will operate every two minutes and non-AC buses will ply every minute from Nilakkal to the Pampa KSRTC depot and back. Tickets will be charged for to and fro journey and the fares will be around `40 to `75.
For VIP passengers reaching Sabarimala, a mini AC van at a special fee will be available at Nilakkal. To monitor and track the buses, a GPS tracking system will be installed in all Sabarimala buses. Around 800 employees will be on duty for 24 hours in three shifts. KSRTC online booking service can be done through KSRTC website www.keralartc.com and will begin from November 29.