Electronic Ticketing Systems: Who got it right and how

Electronic Ticketing Systems are commonly used now-a-days. Here, we take a look at the various aspects of Electronic Ticket Systems, and how they fare compared to Manual Fare Collection systems.

Before we delve into the world of ETMs, let us begin with Manual Fare Collection in different parts of the country and how things were different then.

Manual fare collection systems have been prevalent in India for decades in different fashions.  Trancsos like BEST, NMMT, PMPML, MSRTC have had standard punched tickets, while their southern counterparts like BMTC, KSRTC, MTC, TNSTC have similar looking tickets, though they may not be punched.

A ticket box with tickets waiting to be punched in a BEST Bus in Mumbai, India.
A ticket box with tickets in in a BEST bus in Mumbai. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan, CC-BY-SA 4.0, available on the Wikimedia Commons.

 

What did Manual ticketing entail for the conductor as well as the commuter?

  • Different tickets with different denominations had to be printed, serial numbers had to be stamped and then delivered to the depots, from where they’d be handed over to the conductors. Now this would have hardly been an issue with Transcos like NMMT and TMT who have just 2 depots each, but it becomes a headache for larger ones like BEST or BMTC with 26 and 43 depots respectively. The problem is compounded when it comes to State level transcos as well.
  • What if the conductor runs out of a particular denomination?  If it is a larger denomination, I’m sure he’d be able to give it in smaller denominations like BMTC and TNSTC conductors have given me but what if it is the smallest denomination possible.
  • The conductor has to remember stages for the entire route. Long-distance routes, become a pain in the neck.
  • Trip-sheet maintenance was a herculean task for all conductors, they had to count the number of tickets sold, tally it with the money they got and get it approved by the Depot manager.
  • It becomes a headache for the Ticket Examiner as he has to decipher the stage and fare in a bus full of people.
  • If the passenger [like me] collects tickets and keeps a bunch of them in his or pocket, and the Examiner asks for your ticket, well, I was let off with a warning because I was 11.
  • The upside of these tickets were that they were equivalent to Collectors items. While American kids grew up with Trading Cards at the same time, we grew up trading our bus tickets. They were colourful, had different numbers, and different punchmarks on them. Unless it is a PMPML ticket.

Now, let us make the transition to Electronic tickets.

 A handheld ticket machine used in BEST buses in Mumbai
A handheld ticket machine used in BEST buses in Mumbai. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan,  CC-BY-SA 4.0 available on the Wikimedia Commons.

My first interaction with Electronic Ticket Machines [ETMs] was in 2008 when I had shifted to Bangalore. BMTC was using the MicroFX BTM series at that time. These devices were used on various routes, mostly on Suvarna and Vajra services. These machines however, disappeared somewhere around the onset of 2011. Around 2010, I saw some MTC and mofussil routes of TNSTC use these machines on certain routes, as well. KSRTC [Karnataka] had deployed these machines in 2004, and by 2008, the entire on-board ticketing was done using ETMs. MSRTC too, today has implemented ETMs across Maharashtra, for both, on-board ticketing, as well as the off-board ticketing on their Shivneri and Hirkani routes.

Now, let us look at some of the benefits the ETMs have given our transcos. I have taken this from a Case Study on KSRTC by the World Bank and a Case Study on MSRTC by CIO.IN.

  • The need to run a printing press to print tickets has gone. Along with it, the overheads of transport and running an entire accounts team to monitor the process is eliminated.
  • Conductors no longer need to maintain a trip-sheet. The data is already on the ETM, so they just have to synchronise it with the Depot, either at the end of the day, or wirelessly on the fly.
  • These systems allow the Corporation to monitor routes in real-time. This means that statistics and revenue details can be had for any route, at any given point in time, which helps in maintaining an efficient route network, eliminate overlapping routes, modify loss-making routes, and more.

Now, after all this, one would like to assume that whoever implemented ETMs would be better off than those who didn’t. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. As is the case with most new ventures in India, a venture is only as good as its implementation.

Here are a few instances of problems:

  • The PMPML, ended up scrapping its entire ETM range because they were unable to back up any of the data from it. The ETMs were failing as often as their buses.
  • The BMTC scrapped its initial set of ETMs and then got a newer set later on.

However, only one organisation in India has taken full advantage of Electronic Ticketing Machines, and that is the BEST. The BEST, in 2011, decided to go the MRTC way by partnering with Trimax IT for its Electronic Ticketing System. As per the Trimax Case Study on BEST, the arrangement was made under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement where Trimax would supply the infrastructure needed and keep a percentage of the revenue generated.

So, what was the deal all about?

Well, here goes:

  • All Ticket boxes were replaced with ETMs.
  • All bus passes were replaced by RFID cards.
  • Trimax set up a Server, which runs on Open-Source Software.
  • Setting up an online payment system for Bus Passes.
  • The all important ePurse.
The template of a BEST RFID bus pass. It has the Users photo in the box, and their name and ID number on the right
The template of a BEST RFID bus pass. It has the Users photo in the box, and their name and ID number on the right. Copyright, BEST.

The most important parts of this development were:

  1. Connecting a Bus Pass to the ID card
  2. The ePurse Concept.

In the last few years, several Transcos have insisted on an ID card for issuing Daily Passes to prevent their resale. BMTC started charging extra for passes if the commuter did not have a BMTC ID. BEST went one level ahead by saying a Daily Pass could only be bought if the user had an RFID card. This eliminated the need for manual verification and validation of both the ID as well as the pass. Simply scan under the ETM and it tells the Conductor whether a Pass has been issued or not.

The ePurse, on the other hand, is basically a prepaid card. It allows the holder to purchase upto 6 tickets at one go, and allows for any amount of tickets to be purchased, so long as there is a minimum of ₹50 balance on the card. The ticket that is printed, comes with the balance printed on it.

BESTs ETMs are connected to the servers via GPRS, thus keeping them in-synch, eliminating the need for conductors to transfer data manually. This also helps in sending announcements and notifications to the conductor and driver. When fares are revised, the ETMs automatically pick it up.

In order to do this, BEST had to create an entire database with the names of each bus stop, with their coordinates, routes that halted there and assigned each of them a unique ID. This ID can be found on the physical bus stop. It can be used to find out the Estimated Time of Arrival of a bus by sending BEST<space><Bus Stop ID> to 56060. Each bus is connected with a GPS unit that transmits data to the server.

Now all this may sound rosy, but to be honest, may not not work outside of BEST. It may not work with NMMT, TMT, PMPML, or BMTC. The reasons are:

      • No fixed bus stops, especially in newer areas. Without fixed bus stops, it can’t be named and assigned an ID.

Specific BEST bus stops have specific buses stopping at them, some of the others don’t. Thus, there may be four Unipoles at a Bus stop, each with a different bus marked on it, each with a different ID.

Thus, I think it is clear that at the end of the day, BEST is indeed the BEST here. They have done a truly wonderful job with their system. MSRTC is close behind, with KSRTC just missing the real-time synchronisation. Other transcos, must try and catch up, or risk losing revenue due to leaks.

 

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Author: Srikanth

BEST? Bus! Vroom, *pulls bellpull* Hi, I'm Srikanth. I'm a freelance media fellow with a fascination for buses, toll plazas, fire trucks and drones.

56 thoughts on “Electronic Ticketing Systems: Who got it right and how”

  1. Very insightful. Indeed the electronic ticketing system, if implemented properly, helped in bringing more revenues to the transport companies. In turns we miss collecting colorful manual tickets, especially those special edition tickets that comes with special occasions.

    1. It will definitely reduce the manual work of Conductor as he will no longer be giving manual tickets and punching them.

  2. Well written and well researched article. I’m hoping to see more such articles about BEST coming up in the next few months.

  3. Very interestingly put, but I think it is time people let go of these kind of ticketing systems and went the USA way by making a card mandatory. Do away with conductors.

  4. I’m not sure where you’re getting your information,
    but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
    Thanks for magnificent info I was looking for this info for my mission.

  5. Extremely well written. I think this is proof enough that India itself can develop indigenous systems that can actually be used in other developing nations.

  6. This blog is really amazing. Well written, nicely put. Keep up the work, and have more lovely articles up and running.

  7. Hello, Neat post. There is a problem with the way the system is being implemented however. It is too slow and not all transport bodies as willing to do it which is sad.

  8. I was able to find good info from your article. Well written, keep it running. This blog is nice.

  9. I just want to say I am fascinated by Ticket machines.
    Did India ever use Gibson Ticket Machines? Or a Setright Machine?

  10. I think the whole system of ticketing should be junked. People should travel for free. Public transportation should be free.

  11. I do accept as true with all of the concepts you’ve offered on your post.
    They are really convincing and can definitely work. Still, the posts are
    very quick for newbies. May just you please extend them a little from subsequent time?
    Thanks for the post.

  12. Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up plus
    the rest of the articles on the site is very good.

  13. I gotta favorite this website . it is extremely helpful ..
    I loved the article you wrote last about TV.

  14. You made various good points there. I did a search on the issues and found many points that will agree with your blog.

  15. Appreciate the effort taken to write this. I’m impressed with India’s progress.

  16. naturally like your website however you need to check
    tthe spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find it very bothersome to inform the truth then again I’ll surely come again again.

  17. It is not as high tech as you make it sound. The conductor has to manually change stage. It is not GPS based. NMMT too has started introducing the ETMs on their buses – starting with AC buses.

      1. NMMT has started ETMs and Mobile ticketing on their AC routes. All of which enter BEST territory. BEST went all out and installed it across all the 26 depots and got a Prepaid card as well.

        1. NMMT is doing what PMPML, BMTC, MTC, TNSTC, all did. Putting ETMs on certain routes. That only impacts those buses on which the machines are present.
          BESTs core advantage is that the RFID system makes it like the Indian Railways ATVM. I just hope CRIS/Indian Railways collaborates with transcos to allow them to develop a Mobile Wallet. It would be super easy for BEST to implement it.
          Ask the user to enter the stop code/name of the bus stop, chose the destination by searching, and buy the ticket. It generates a 4 digit code valid for say 15-20 mins. Show the code to the conductor, he just types it in and keeps going. It gets logged into his tripsheet, and when the ETM syncs with the server, the data also lands up on the users phone.
          If the user has a pass, of any kind, just show the conductor, and keep going.

  18. Wow, superb article! How long have you ever been blogging for?
    you make blogging about buses easy. The entire look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!

  19. Pingback: Bus Pass Template

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