Upgraded ticket-buying app to be launched soon

Mumbai: You will now be able to buy your daily suburban train ticket using the UTS app, even if you are outside the station or from the platform. The app, designed to help commuters buy tickets without lining up in front of the window, was launched two years ago but did not take off as commuters had to keep a 30-metre distance from  station to book a ticket. Testing for the removal of the 30-metre condition is already underway in Chennai and officials are hopeful the app will take off once it is appropriately tweaked and upgraded.

“Mumbai sees more ticket purchasing at the counter than many other states combined due to the heavy footfalls in the city. Hence, the application was aimed at reducing the queues at ticket windows. Commuters have said that they have had lot of problems due to the 30-metre rule. They have been unable to book the tickets despite keeping the distance or realise that they have to buy a ticket at the station where the application is almost useless,” said a railway official.

The 30-metre rule was made as the railways feared commuters would book tickets only when they spotted a Ticket Collector from a distance. CR has also sent a letter asking for this rule to be changed, according to Central Railway (CR) commercial manager, Shailendra Kumar. “These issues will be sorted out once the application clears the test, but the fact is that the application is not doing as well as we want. Once we receive permission, we are hopeful that the queues at the counters will reduce.” Both the CR and the Western Railway (WR) sees only 500 tickets purchased using this application.

A new rule included on the Railway Board level, which will now allow tickets to be booked from circulating areas, like near the counter or even the space between the entry of the station up to the platform.