The hi-tech move by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to introduce GPRS-enabled electronic ticket machines (ETMs) has fallen flat within 24 hours after the machines failed to function.
KSRTC employees in the district returned to their old racks on Monday, a day after the project was inaugurated with much fanfare last Sunday. The department procured around 150 ETMs worth Rs 15 lakh, and introduced 65 of them on various routes. But after the GPRS-enabled facility, which functions with the help of a 3G data SIM card, failed to function due to connectivity issues, the employees went back to the manual ticketing system.
“Technicians may not have anticipated the connectivity problem in a moving vehicle. We had to go back to the racks the very next day,” said KSRTC employee P V Gireesh Kumar. “We have experienced technical difficulties with the internet connection. However, the issue has almost been rectified and the machines are likely to become operational again on Friday,” said another employee Surjith C K.
According to conductors, the batteries of ETM machines also lose charge by noon. “The batteries drain by noon. We have been asked not to recharge the machine in the bus as it may disable the GPRS. So we had no other option but to return to the rack system,” said employee P B Sanish.
Meanwhile, KSRTC authorities claimed that the system was error-free. “The machines are functioning properly. We have not received any complaints yet,” said Satheesh Kumar, officer in charge of ETMs.
The machines were introduced to improve ticketing efficiency and to track reservation and cancellation of tickets. The centrally-connected system is being monitored through a server from Transport Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram.
Times of India
