CHENNAI: In a bid to promote online booking of bus tickets, the state transport department has launched a scheme, offering Rs 10,000 each to three passengers who book State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus tickets online.
The passengers who book tickets on lean days (Monday to Thursday), except festival seasons, will be rewarded with the cash prize each month.
The commuters are chosen randomly from the ticket booking database of transport undertaking through lucky draw and the scheme is being executed by the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services, a technical arm of the transport department, said official sources.
Transport Minister SS Sivasankar, in a statement on Friday, said three persons have been selected for cash rewards through an online lottery system for January. They are Essaki Murugan from Tirunelveli, Seetha K from Vellore, and Imetyaz Arif from Chidambaram.
According to sources from SETC, which oversees online ticket bookings, the initiative aims to optimise resource utilisation. On lean days, online bookings range from 7,000 to 8,000 tickets a day out of a total of 80,000 available tickets.
“With an additional 45 to 50% of unreserved travellers, the occupancy rate stands at 65% from Monday to Thursday. We want to enhance this to 85 to 90 %,” they said.
The official said 80% of tickets are allocated for SETC buses, while the remaining are for mofussil services of TNSTC corporations. “By forecasting demand in advance, crews and buses can be deployed effectively to meet traveller needs. Currently, we mostly engage additional services depending on the ticket demand at the terminus,” he said.
On weekends, average bookings reach 25,000 and spike to 50,000 to 60,000 during Pongal, Deepavali and other festival seasons. “If auspicious days coincide with weekends (Friday to Sunday), daily reservations can reach 40,000. Given the widespread internet access in the state, online booking offers a hassle-free option for commuters, with the added incentive of a chance to win cash rewards,” added the officer.
The official also clarified that the commuters who book tickets only through www.tnstc.in portal or tnstc mobile app are eligible for the reward.