Hyderabad: TGSRTC set to soon introduce digital payment process

The corporation has already successfully tried out this payment method as a pilot project in some bus depots and for some services earlier

Hyderabad: Paying for the bus fare, that too the exact amount without having to worry for loose change, is going to get much more comfortable with the planned digitisation.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC), which tried out the digital payment in some of its services, is now on its way to fully introduce the digital payment process across its bus fleet.

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This process of online payment system is already in place in many air-conditioned buses operating in long-distance routes, and has been well-received by the passengers while making life easy for the corporation staff.

In the city, a pilot project has also been successful in different bus depots, including in Bandlaguda and Dilsukhnagar. It enabled the RTC staff to cut down time in collecting fare and issuing tickets, and also the passengers who now do not have to worry about carrying the exact fare.

Officials who started the digital payment process in different buses in the city have found that each payment through ‘QR Code’ takes around half-a-minute on an average. In addition to reducing this, they are now focused on overcoming technical problems.

RTC has purchased i-TIMS machines to make online payments while checking petty problems. While 10,000 machines are required across the State, 6,000 have been procured in the first phase. RTC’s plan is to use it first in the city, and gradually introduce the system in the buses across the State.

It is being used on an experimental basis in a few bus depots. As i-TIMS machines are ‘touch screens’, the bus conductors have been trained for a period of three months on their usage. Further, based on their feedback, technical issues are being resolved.

“We have examined the performance of these automatic ticketing machines on software update, cash transfer to accounts, and identification of the stage where the bus stops, etc. A special team is correcting the technical glitches which were noticed in the trial run,” said a RTC official.