The Railway administration seems to have found an effective way to end long queues at ticket windows for local travel. The solution is not a technological one, but the effective use of available human resources.
After the failure of Coupon Validating Machines (CVMs) and Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs), the Jansadharan Ticket Booking Sewaks (JTBS) has been of great help to the Railways. JTBS is a private person who is authorised to sell local train tickets outside the railway premises. JTBS charge an extra `1 per ticket as their commission.
The Central Railway (CR), that introduced the JTBS system in 2011, has already approved 174 JTBS across the main line and plans to increase the number to 1,000. The Western Railway, which started the scheme last year, is inviting the common people to become JTBS.
According to the latest figures provided by the Central Railway, almost 11 per cent of its suburban tickets are being sold by these JTBS. Earlier, the CR appointed 174 JTBS in the nearby areas of bigger suburban stations. However, only 136 JTBS are operational, as the scheme is yet to gain popularity.
CR is attempting to increase the number of JTBS up to 1,000, which railway officials believe will shrink queues at booking windows to a minimum. Figures obtained from CR reveal that out of 9.5 lakh suburban tickets sold daily, JTBS comprise 1.10 lakh tickets, which constitutes almost 11 per cent of the total tickets. “Only 136 JTBS have reduced the load by 11 per cent. Imagine the result of 1,000 JTBS working across all stations in the suburban section,” said a senior commercial officer. According to the figures, 6.5 lakh tickets are sold through booking counters, 1.2 lakh through CVMs and 0.7 lakh through smart card-operated ATVMs.
Commuters have also responded positively to the initiative. “Initially, when I saw a board advertising the sale of local train tickets outside the station, I got confused. But, since I realised that it was authentic, I have been buying tickets from JTBS, instead of wasting 10 to 15 minutes in a queue,” said Prabhakar Shukla, an occasional commuter on CR.
Speaking about the scheme, said Atul Rane, chief PRO of CR said, “The JTBS scheme is a win-win situation for commuters, operators and the Railways. This initiative has become popular and we intend to expand it across all stations of suburban services.”
He further added, “We are still inviting people to come forward and seize the opportunity of becoming JTBS on a first-come-first-served basis.”
The scheme is gradually picking up speed on WR, which introduced it only last year. WR has only seven JTBS, who sell an average 18,000 tickets per day. “We have sufficient counters at booking windows and as rent for shops to sell tickets is comparatively high in the western suburbs, it discourages private operators. We are still trying to popularise it,” said Sharat Chandrayan, chief PRO of WR.
Suggesting a few changes to railway officials, JTBS Ashok Gala, who operates from Kurla (east) said, “If the Railways gives us some incentives, such as five per cent bonus amount on ATVMs, it would be great for all parties involved. Moreover, Rail-ways should also provide training for safe operations in the beginning.”