BEST to issue e-tickets

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) in Mumbai is all set to introduce e-tickets on all its routes. The undertaking has already implemented e-tickets on two buses on the Wadala-Borivali route. The e-ticket devices will be lighter than the currently used metal boxes with the paper tickets. They will be three-in-one hand held devices which will also validate monthly and quarterly smart cards, and renew them on-board, besides issuing e-tickets. The devices will have GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) which will enable the devices to communicate with a central server. The latter will monitor the ticket sales and also the smart card validations. The BEST has awarded a contract for the supply of 7,500 e-ticket devices to Trimax IT Infrastructure & Services Ltd. These devices will be used on a total of 4,625 buses in the BEST fleet. The new cards will be available for र20 each with existing pass holders getting them free. Trimax will set up 150 counters across the city for selling the new smart cards.