INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - APRIL 2007
The Month that was ...

LALU TO FLAG OFF CHEAPER E-TICKETING CHARGES

RAILWAY minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is set to offer yet another sop to railway passengers. The e-ticketing charges for A/C and the sleeper class will come down to Rs 25 and Rs 20, respectively, from the existing charge of Rs. 40 and Rs. 25, respectively. An announcement in this regard would be made next month.

The reduction of e-ticket charge would be over and above the fare reduction announced by Mr. Prasad in the Rail Budget. The railways sell an average of 30,000 tickets through e-ticketing each day. With service rates coming down and demand for tickets expected to shoot up during the May to July season, the railways hopes to garner more revenue through e-ticketing.

"People are increasingly taking to e-ticketing these days; it is far more convenient than standing in large queues to buy tickets. Moreover, the customers can choose what they need on the Internet," a senior Rail Bhawan official said. According to the official, there would also be a mechanism put in place to curb bulk ticket buying on the Net. Instead, the railway ministry has identified Sify for marketing and selling e-tickets at its cyber cafes. "We are also about to tie up with few more players for e-ticketing," he added.

Moreover, for the customers, the website is also protected against phishing. "Every Web-page of the site is http-enabled, which helps encryption of data. Therefore, every information of the customer, especially related to credit card remains protected," the official said.

According to Internet and Mobile Association of India, last year, the sales of rail tickets were highest in Mumbai (25%) & Delhi (21%), followed by Chennai (8%), Bangalore (7%), Ahmedabad (2%), Kanpur (2%). Non-metros like Allahabad, Bhopal and Guwahati are also catching up.

According to an IRCTC official, maximum ticket sales are recorded in February to March every year due to the summer travel season. According to a data, 37% of e-ticket purchasers are in the age group of 30-40, whereas 36% are in the 18-30 age groups.