No more ticket bunches, just a slip out of a hand-held machine

No more ticket bunches, just a slip out of a hand-held machine
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: In a few months' time, if you ask the city bus conductor for tickets, chances are you will get a printed slip similar to a department store bill.

In its latest hi-tech move, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will introduce Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) to replace the stapled bundles of tickets.

These machines, which look like large calculators, come with various selection options. For example, by punching in appropriate keys, a conductor can issue a half ticket on a Pushpak bus from Jayanagar IX block to Chamarajpet. So, instead of carrying tickets of different denominations, the conductor simply needs to have an ETM.

``The machines are conductor-friendly and makes their job easier. Also, it will provide accurate information about the number of tickets issued and amount collected. This will bring down the violations committed by some conductors,'' BMTC managing director Upendra Tripathy told this website's newspaper.

This way, a single printed ticket can be issued if a passenger buys for a group travelling together. The corporation also saves on paper cost. The machine will also calculate the total tickets issued and fare collected at the end of the day.

The BMTC will also issue `smart' cards to passengers instead of the regular paper bus passes. A microchip embedded in the card will contain the validity codes of the pass and the number of times it was swiped. ``The user has to place the card on the ETM, the equivalent of showing a bus pass to the conductor. We will issue these smart cards for student as well as daily passes.''

At present, the ETMs are being used on 20 buses operating from the Yelahanka depot on a pilot basis. Conductors have already recommended certain changes, which will be incorporated in the machines before issuing them to all conductors. They have already suggested that the number of keys to be pressed to issue a ticket be reduced.

Although the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has also adopted ETMs and plastic cards in place of bus passes, Tripathy says that BMTC has used a different technology. ``We need to operate under different conditions -- shorter durations and crowded buses.''

The ETMs, however, are not mandatory for conductors. ``We are persuading them to adapt technology with incentives. We are offering a Rs 50 bonus for those who agree to use them. And if they have no problems with it for a month, they will be paid Rs 1000.''