COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) Coimbatore division introduced UPI and debit/credit card mode of payments on electronic ticketing machines in mofussil buses on Wednesday, bringing cheer and relief to passengers.
Currently, the e-payment facility is available in 1,388 mofussil services operated in the Coimbatore division, which covers Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, and Erode to the routes within the division, other districts in Tamil Nadu, and neighbouring states. The facility is already available in MTC in Chennai and SETC.
A senior officer in TNSTC Coimbatore division told TNIE that a total of 1,171 town and 1388 mofussil services are operated in the division. The online payment facility has been introduced only in mofussil services.
“Currently, printed tickets are provided to passengers in town and mofussil buses through the ETMs. Now, UPI and card payment option now have been enabled. If passengers wish to make online payment, they just have to scan the QR code that will be displayed on the ETM using their phone and receive a ticket upon completion of payment,” he explained.
“In the first phase, we have introduced this facility in mofussil buses. We will assess the efficiency of online payment process, including network stability and handling transactions during peak hours. After we observe this, we will think of extending it in town buses,” he said.
K Raguapthi, a passenger in Karamadai, welcomed this move and, said, “I work in a cloth store in Gandhipuram and travel by bus daily. The ticket fare is Rs 18 from Karamadai to Gandhipuram. It is difficult to tender exact fare every time. If we don’t give correct fare, some conductors would shout at us which is embarrasing at the start of the day.” He said online payment is a big relief for passengers to receive tickets in a hassle-free manner.
A conductor, P Pannerselvam (name changed) who works at a mofussil bus in the Coimbatore - Mettupalayam route said UPI payment is not feasible for short-distance journeys. He said that this payment will be suitable only for long-distance routes such as Erode, Madurai, etc.
“UPI fare collection is likely to be cumbersome in crowded buses. It will only delay ticket issuance,” he said.
Another conductor, C Rangaraj said UPI payments will help them issue ticket without the problem of collecting the exact change. He felt issuing tickets online would be challenging initially, they would get used to the process.