CHENNAI: Nothing much has changed despite the efforts of the Southern Railways to popularise the automatic ticket vending machines installed in the suburban stations.
With the machines breaking down quite often due to technical glitches, of late the passengers have been ignoring it. “Except for the tech savvy and young people who are comfortable with the technology, the machines are generally avoided by the passengers who are technologically illiterate,” said Roy Rozario, general secretary of Peoples Voice, a collective of concerned citizens.
Every day, passengers opt for the season ticket, which liberates them from the hassle of procuring a ticket before the journey. When the railways carried out the drive to promote the smart cards, there were employees near the machine to assist the people. “Using the card in their possession, the employees also handed over the tickets to the passengers standing in the queue thus reducing the burden on the staff manning the ticket counters,” added Rozario.
The smart card, which is valid for six months, has been extended patronage by people who use the suburban trains at least thrice a week. Though the passengers can re-charge their cards from any centre, the people have to come to the main centres to buy a smart card. This also makes it less attractive in the eyes of the people.
“Some commuters prefer to buy a ticket from the counter, whenever they choose to take a train. The smart card does not create an impact on those people,” said Venkitaram, a suburban passenger.
With less number of people opting for the ticket vending machines, during peak hours serpentine queues form before the ticket counters in the suburban stations. “Most often there will be only one or two counters working, even when there is a long queue. It will be fine if the authorities continue to post an employee with a smart card near the machine to help people purchase a ticket,” said Reghunathan from Tambaram.