Mumbai: Why ticket booking app has turned into disfunctional bane for Railways

The UTS app was started to make ticketing easier for local train commuters. File Pic

What was meant to be a boon for booking local train tickets has now turned into a dysfunctional bane for the Indian Railways. The unreserved ticketing system (UTS) application started for the Mumbai suburban system has received a poor response from commuters because it is riddled with problems, the most common one being its functionality in poor internet connectivity.

However, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to get in touch with the Railway's IT arm, Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), and rectify the troubles. CR sources said that one of the most common complaints is lack of access to the mobile ticket when the Internet connection goes weak.

Can't open ticket
"On certain stretches of the rail line, there are times when the phone and internet network becomes weak or unavailable. That is when opening the mobile ticket turns into a problem," said a senior CR official. If a ticket checker asks for a ticket, the mobile one does not open at all on certain stretches if the internet connection is weak. "There have been times when I had to alight at the next station only to show my mobile ticket," said A Bhosale, local train commuter and Navi Mumbai.

Commuters cannot save the mobile ticket as a screen shot either because of a safety feature to prevent people from forwarding their mobile ticket to others. Presently, barely 0.05 per cent of around 42 lakh commuters use the ticketing application while travelling through CR.

Offline option
As per plans, CR authorities are looking at setting up a system which would ensure tickets are displayed even when the device is offline, so that the weak internet network doesn't bother commuters. "We will talk to CRIS and get this sorted," said Narendra Patil, Chief PRO, CR.