Kochi: Now commuters can do seat bookings at reservation counters of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) using their credit or debit cards.
As part of its efforts to go high-tech, the KSRTC has tied up with the HDFC Bank to provide the facility to the passengers.
“The bank officials distributed the POS machines at all reservation counters of the corporation. The staff is being trained in batches to use the machines,” said a senior KSRTC official.
A circular issued from the chief office directed the unit officers to ensure that the passengers be informed of the facility through notice boards right in front of the counters.
The corporation is also in the process of introducing smart systems, including a mobile app that enables real time tracking of buses.
“As a first step, the GPS-based Electronic Ticketing Machines in the Thiruvananthapu-ram -Ponmudi route was successful. We aim to introduce the same by next month,” a senior KSRTC official said.
The proposed project will facilitate live updation of ticketing status, enabling booking of tickets through smart phones (barcode reader), Smart card and Paytm.
Passengers waiting at bus stands could track the arrival of buses and could also reserve seats through the proposed app. Real-time updation of ticket sales by linking the ticketing machines with the KSRTC server was another component. It could ensure that there was no manipulation in ticket sales.
