Following the launch of the GPRS-enabled electronic ticket machines (ETM) in KSRTC buses in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is planning to introduce the new gen machines in buses plying through Ernakulam before the Sabarimala season commences.
The GPRS-enabled machine was launched in Thiruvananthapuram Central station and 150 buses got the facility last week. A centrally-monitored server at the control room of the transport Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram will be able to keep track of the distance covered by a particular bus, the number of passengers using the service, the running time, the number of tickets disbursed and the arrival and departure of the buses. The number of available reservation and cancellation of reservations in long-distance KSRTC buses can also be monitored. Even the number of services cancelled from each depot can be identified.
Currently, normal ETMs which disburse tickets are being used in the rest of the buses across the state.
Ernakulam Zonal Officer Prasanna Kumar said that the decision to introduce the ETM’s at Ernakulam with immediate effect was taken at a meeting held between the KSRTC Managing Director and other officials in Thiruvananthapuram recently.“The number of bus services being operated in Ernakulam is comparatively high. It has been decided to introduce the ETMs at Ernakulam simultaneously with the rest of the places in Thiruvananthapuram which would be beneficial,” the Zonal officer said.
The KSRTC plans to introduce the new gen ETMs in other parts of the state in several phases. However, the system is not without snags. Technical glitches, including software issues of the Central server as well as difficulty in procuring log sheet printouts in time, was reported during the initial days of the launch. Also, in certain locations, the central server is unable to track the ETMs due to the lack of range and frequency.
KSRTC chief traffic manager and in-charge executive director (Operations) K M Irshad said that the issue was being resolved. Untill the KSRTC is able to install its own server, which would cost the Corporation `2 crore such snags are bound to surface. The KSRTC is using the server service of a Bangalore-based company which installed the GPRS ETMs as it would cost. As per plan, 4000 new ETMs will be introduced across the state.