The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which has provided point of sale (PoS) machines at 10 booking counters, plans to instal 102 more at different counters.
Under its ‘Digital KSRTC’ initiative, the largest state-run corporation also plans to procure electronic ticketing machines (ETMs), which are hand-held devices used by conductors to issue tickets.
The decision gains significance in the wake of scarcity of small-denomination notes. Moreover, KSRTC’s revenues had dropped after the ban on Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.
“We have already provided card swiping facilities in 10 passenger ticket booking counters and the process is on to instal 102 more. In addition to these, we will also provide these facilities in 65 more places. With this, we hope to cover almost all KSRTC’s ticket booking counters in the state and outside in a month,” Rajender Kumar Kataria, managing director, KSRTC, told DH.
KSRTC had recently introduced PoS machines at ticket booking counters at Shanthinagar, Majestic, Mysuru, Infosys counter in Mysuru and Bengaluru, Ooty, Chennai and Tirupati.
Passengers can also swipe debit and credit cards to buy tickets on board. “We already have GPS-enabled ETMs in some buses. KSRTC plans to procure 2,500 electronic ticketing machines, which will be put to use in express buses,” Kataria added.
He said: “These initiatives will help KSRTC collect revenues on a real-time basis and enable a cashless commute.”
Kataria added that plans are afoot to instal closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at its depots, workshops and bus stations to improve efficiency.
Another official said about 35,000 tickets were sold online everyday, while the remaining are booked on-board or at counters.
At present, KSRTC has a fleet of 8,090 buses catering to an average of 24.43 lakh passengers daily with a daily revenue of Rs 8.04 crore.