BENGALURU: Even as crowds surge in Metro trains, the 14 Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) installed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) at its stations lie unusable.
The need to upgrade the software and recalibrate the machines to accept new coins and notes issued post demonetisation have rendered them useless.
Three TVMs were commissioned in October 2011, one each at M G Road, Indira Nagar and Baiyappanahalli, when the first Metro train in the city was run.
However, right from the beginning, the functioning was erratic, attributed initially as teething trouble. Two other machines were installed in August 2016 at Kempe Gowda Layout when the entire Phase-I was commissioned. However, it did not issue even a single ticket.
The launch of similar-looking Rs 1 and Rs 2 coins caused initial problems and the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes a few months later sealed its fate. A source said that nine more machines recently installed at stations, including Mysuru Road and Yelachenahalli have not been commissioned.
“We have not given up on it. We have asked the contractor to recalibrate it and upgrade the software,” he said.
“Since, these machines do not accept debit or credit cards, it is important that they are able to disperse coins and notes of all denominations,” the source added.
Another Metro source felt that their non-functioning was a minor issue. However, commuters differ. Rajesh R, a software professional, rushing from KG Metro station to the Mysore Road bus depot to board a bus to Salem, said, “I have used these machines in Delhi and whenever I travelled abroad. They are used extensively everywhere. Why is Bangalore Metro finding it so difficult to set right these automated machines.” Commuters felt it could greatly help during peak travel hours.
AS Shankar, Executive Director, Operations and Maintenance, BMRCL, said, “We are doing the maximum we can to reduce queues at ticket counters. Two additional counters were opened at Baiyappanahalli this week.”