Delhi govt's e-ticketing app for buses sells around 20K tickets in 5 days

Around 20,000 tickets were bought through Delhi government's online ticketing app within first five days of its trial on cluster buses in the city, the Transport Department said on Friday.

Around 20,000 tickets were bought through Delhi government's online ticketing app within first five days of its trial on cluster buses in the city, the Transport Department said on Friday. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot reviewed the trial and purchased a ticket through the app, Chartr, on the Old Delhi Railway Station to Kalkaji route.

The second phase of the trial of the e-ticketing app was started in cluster buses on 14 routes earlier this week. The trial will also be extended to 29 DTC buses on route number 534, Anand Vihar to Mehrauli, it said. "The app covers 332 cluster buses on 14 routes. So far around 20,000 tickets have been purchased through the app, out of which, more than 75 per cent are pink tickets purchased by female passengers," the statement said.

Female passengers can buy a single ticket for each journey, while other passengers will be able to purchase up to three tickets for a journey. Women are allowed free rides in Delhi government's buses. Gahlot, along with the officials from the Transport Department, conducted a real-time inspection of the app. "Now that we've increased COVID-19 testing and witnessing another spike in cases, app-based contactless ticketing is crucial in minimising surface contact," he said.

"I'm extremely happy to note that within five days of starting the trial, 6 per cent of total ticketing on the selected routes are being done through the app now. It is particularly encouraging to see the response from female passengers, who account for more than 75 per cent of total tickets issued through this app," he said. The app supports many new features and has rectified all the shortcomings noticed during the first phase of the trial. It has been developed with the technical support of IIIT-Delhi. To understand and address passengers' requirements, an opinion survey was conducted alongside the trial in which 96-98 per cent users seemed very satisfied with the app, an official statement said.