Kochi: For many who had travelled in Metros in big cities like Delhi, the travel in Kochi Metro was more enjoyable. The use of less expensive disposable paper tickets with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) in place of tokens as in Delhi Metro got a thumps up from commuters. “The paper tickets are much easier to carry and the chance of them getting lost during journey is minimal. In Delhi Metro we’ve to drop the tokens in the ticket machine at the destination station. During peak hours, it’s time consuming,” said Adarsh Kumar, an engineer who had worked in Delhi.
Metro ticket
“Instead of tokens, the the ticketing system uses a combination of Open Loop Smart Cards, Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) and QR Codes to collect fares from users, minimising the need for cash transactions. This is the first time that such an innovative model is being implemented in the country,” said Ravi B Goyal, CMD of AGS Transact Technologies Ltd, which is mandated with the end-to-end management of automatic fare collection system for Kochi Metro.
Paper ticket also spares KMRL of setting up AFCs. “We've invested in setting up the AFCs. The money will be recovered in 10 years. A small percentage of every ticket sale will be allotted to us,” he said. The AGSTTL is now busy with setting up a similar system in the Amritsar BRTS by November.
