Dr. Avnish Jolly, 5th June:As a pilot project, the PRTC had introduced about 50 ETMs in its KM scheme bus depot of Patiala. The project turned out to be a big success.According to PRTC Managing Director Manvesh Singh Sidhu, the ETMs would help check revenue losses because of people travelling without tickets.
In an effort to provide convenience to commuters, the cash-strapped Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has decided to introduce smart tickets for passengers travelling in its fleet of buses. Electronically generated tickets would be introduced in all PRTC buses in a phased manner. For the purpose the PRTC has decided to procure electronic ticketing machine (ETM) .
According to PRTC sources, the corporation has taken a cue from State Transport Corporation in Karnataka and also from the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation to implement this project. Officials of the PRTC had studied the electronic ticketing systems in these two organisations, which had been running successfully.
The electronic tickets would have detailed information like the boarding and destination stations and the date and time of travel, PRTC said. The corporation informed that in the first phase, it plans to introduce electronic tickets in Patiala, Chandigarh and Bathinda since all these depots were already computerised.