NEW DELHI: With the recent surge in Covid-19 positive cases in the national capital, the contactless ticketing system in public transport- Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses- has become a hit among the commuters, especially women. Within eight months of its launch, the transport department has seen a 10 per cent increase in e-tickets.
In view of the pandemic and to maintain social distancing inside the DTC and cluster buses, the Aam Aadmi Party government came up with the idea of introducing contactless ticketing and was introduced in August last year in all buses phase-wise.
According to an official, who is closely monitoring the contactless ticketing system, said, “In the beginning when the e-ticketing was introduced on a pilot basis, only about 5000 people were purchasing e-tickets. But, now with the system being introduced in all DTC and cluster buses, there has been 10 times rise in the purchase on e-tickets on a daily basis.”
Currently, about 50,000 commuters are travelling daily in buses through e-tickets, said the official.
Officials also added that women passengers are top of the list in purchasing e-tickets. Of the total e-ticket buyers, 75 per cent are women.
The contactless ticketing system has been introduced in 6,750 buses in Delhi, of which 3,760 belong to the DTC and 2,990 are cluster buses. Of the commuters using e-tickets, 55 per cent travel in DTC buses, while 45 per cent travel in cluster buses.
“The chartr app is very useful and e-ticketing saves a lot of time as well as helps in getting a seat in buses. Moreover, with rising corona cases, e-tickets are just the best as you don’t need to get in contact with anyone,” said Arushi, a daily bus commuter.
Another daily bus user said, “Usually, when one boards a bus, the area near the conductor gets crowded as everyone just piles up pushing one another to buy tickets. But, with the contactless ticketing system, it’s nice that we can board a bus, grab a seat and book a ticket comfortably.”
As per officials, around 80,000 people are using chartr app. The app was launched by the transport department for booking bus tickets online. Besides, booking tickets, the app has real-time data of buses, commuters can check the arrival and departure of buses, routes, next stop and so on.