Why stand in line when
you can book your tickets online, asks a technology fan.
AD: Hi, where were you? I’ve been waiting for a long time…
BC: I was waiting for a long time too – at the booking
counter, to buy a train ticket to Delhi.
AD: You still stand in queues for tickets? Ever heard of
online booking?
BC: It’s quite complicated, actually…
AD: Listen, each day, over 350,000 people book train tickets
online, so why do you think...
BC: But online reservation does not allow bulk booking…
AD: It’s only your extended family - you could book six
tickets at a time.
BC: The last time I booked tickets for the family online, my
seat was in a different coupe, quite a distance away from the rest.
AD: Why worry - they were in the same train, weren't they?
BC: Yes, but all the food packed for the journey was with
them. I had to order food in the train and it was terribly bland...
AD: So it’s technology’s fault that the dal was watery…
BC: There’s a lot that you can credit the railways for, but
when it comes to food, you have to admit that they tend to make a meal out of
it.
AD: I would rather think of the convenience that technology
provides. For instance, you don’t need to carry a ticket if you’ve booked it
online - the SMS you get with your PNR number is good enough.
BC: And the TTE matches that with the print-outs he carries...
AD: Even that’s set to change – TTEs are being given
handheld devices which will help in automated ticket checking. The details are immediately passed on to the
central database and the empty berths are allotted to RAC or waitlisted
passengers…
BC: So we book tickets through mobile phones and they check
it using hand-held devices… Sounds futuristic!
AD: That’s right! The convenience is not just in terms of ease
of booking and options, but also in terms of time.
BC: You mean it’s faster…
AD: No, I mean that the website lets you book or cancel
tickets 23 hours a day, except between 11.30 and 12.30 in the night…
BC: What about a break of journey? Online booking doesn’t
accommodate that, does it? We have a few friends getting on at Bapatla, where
the train stops just for a minute. A niece is getting on at Balarshah. My
cousins are getting off at Nagpur and will join us in Delhi a couple of days
later… One of the friends who got on at Bapatla will have to get off at
Gwalior…
AD: Now I know why booking queues and trains move so slowly…
It is guys like you who drive the rest of us to opt for flights…
BC: Speaking of flights, isn’t it an irony that airlines are
being grounded, but the cost of air tickets is soaring?
AD: Are you blaming technology for this?
BC: No, all I’m saying is that technology keeps bringing in
new fads, but they just get shunted out… There are many who still prefer the
‘counter’ approach.
AD: ‘Counter approach’ sounds like a war strategy, but it
doesn’t work in the case of airline tickets - most people prefer online booking
because of the deals available…
BC: That’s right, they opt for discounted airfares, but on
cancellation…
AD: …they get back peanuts.
BC: Now you know why they sell peanuts in trains – it’s a
constant reminder that the railways, your old faithful, will never let you
down.
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