http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Now-simputer-ticket-on-DTCs/299176/

Now, simputer ticket on DTCs

AanchalBansal
Posted online: Sunday , April 20, 2008 at 11:58:36
Updated: Sunday , April 20, 2008 at 11:58:36

New Delhi, April 19 With the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between
Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand taking off on May 1, the Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC) now plans to introduce another first: automatic
ticket issuing system.

As per plans, at least 100 buses on the 5.2-km corridor would have
conductors operating hand-held simputers. The idea, DTC chairman
Ramesh Negi said, is to cut out the "manual ticket" method. The new
tickets, he said, would be "more like computerised receipts".

The ticket would carry details such as the stops between which a
passenger is to commute, the route, and the ticket rate among others,
Negi said. "The machine will store all this information. This will
help both passengers and DTC — commuters would not be cheated, and the
DTC will get information on commuter trends, routes that carry more
traffic, and earnings per kilometre."

Besides, the ticket will not be re-usable, he said.

In 2004, the DTC had set up these machines in some buses, including
the high-capacity buses plying between Hauz Khas and Shivaji Stadium,
to check the system's feasibility. The Corporation recently cleared
the proposal to formally introduce the system.

Initially installed in 100 buses along the corridor, the system would
be introduced in 1,000 more buses within two months, Negi said. A
Chinese-Indian private consortium will supply the machines free of
cost, he added.

The firm will be allowed to generate revenue by using the other side
of the ticket to display own advertisements.

Transport Commissioner R K Verma said the initiative is a first step
towards introducing an integrated fare system before the Commonwealth
Games. "By 2010, commuters will need a single ticket to travel on
Delhi Metro and DTC buses," Verma said. "This is a step in that
direction."

--
Frederick FN Noronha * Independent Journalist
http://fn.goa-india.org * Phone +91-832-2409490
Cell +91-9970157402 (sometimes out of range)
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