BENGALURU: In the first such initiative in Bengaluru Railway Division, UPI enabled payment to purchase unreserved tickets has been launched on a pilot basis at one of the counters of KSR railway station. The response has been overwhelming and the system will be replicated at Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru Cantonment and Sir M Visvesvaraiah Terminal stations shortly. The only mode of payment accepted so far for open tickets was cash, said a senior railway official.
“Due to the last-minute rush and long queues to buy unreserved tickets, accepting payment through credit or debit cards would delay the process for all,” he explained. Counter No 8 of the UTS office located at the main entry launched the service on March 2.
Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) on mobiles to purchase e-tickets are quite popular but tickets cannot be booked within 30 metres of the railway station. “This will really help those who do not carry cash on hand but would like to book a ticket inside the station,” another official said.
Elaborating on the scenario since its launch, a commercial department staffer said, “When it was launched at the beginning of this month, an average of 70 tickets were booked per day. An average of 450 tickets get booked per day with the daily earnings averaging Rs 80,000. Right now, there is only a board outside the counter announcing it. When public become aware of such an option, booking though this mode will rise exponentially.” In future, all the unreserved counters at KSR will have QR code facility,” he added.
TNIE spoke to a few passengers who were booking their ticket through this mode on Friday evening. They were quite impressed with the launch of this facility here.
Prasad Kamath, director at a start-up, Clevertap, in Mumbai was among them. “I found it really useful. I just have Rs 100 in my pocket right now. Enabling this mode of payment permitted me to book my ticket without using my cash. And the process was really quick too.”
Sajjan Kumar, a techie heading to Bagalkot, said, “I did not know the facility was available here. I tried it out and found it really quick. The big plus is that one need not carry change or the official too does not have to hand it back to us. It makes it faster for all of us.”