Daily travel in a densely populated city like Mumbai is a tough task. Though, Mumbai has a strong network of local transport that includes train, metro and bus routes, getting in and around the city can be difficult and tiresome. Using paid cab services are comfortable alternatives, but the cost and traffic jams mean they’re not feasible for a daily traveler. One of the affordable modes of transport is the Mumbai rail. It is the lifeline of Mumbai, which works flawlessly day and night and can get you to your destination, on time. Local trains have first, second and AC class options with reasonable ticket fares. Getting tickets for local trains during peak hours can be a task. Smart cards and monthly passes are ways to stay away from long queues, but renewing them have traditionally been at ticket counters.
What if we tell you that daily commutes can be made easy using your smartphone? Of late, many of these tasks for planning train journeys, checking schedules, even buying tickets can be done online.
Why use apps?
Two of the most popular apps for planning and booking train journeys are M-indicator and UTS, designed specifically for Mumbaikars. M-indicator is a local train transportation app that provides schedules for trains, even buses and metros. The app is easy to use and is up-to-date. Once you have your journey planned, the UTS app (available for Android and iPhones) can be used to book tickets. This is a great initiative taken by Indian Railways to boost paperless ticketing using digital payments. It also encourages passengers by saving efforts and time taken for getting a train ticket. Most importantly, passengers no longer have to carry cash or physical cards in their wallets.
Finding the best routes on M-indicator
Travelling by trains becomes effortless when you know its exact timing, the status and the platform on which they arrive. Thankfully, these details are available on M-indicator and the best bit is, it works offline. Launch the app, type the station name you are at and select the route you want to travel by. You’ll see a list of slow and fast trains with their timings and platforms they’ll arrive on. Besides local trains, M-indicator also provides timing and route information for Metro, BEST buses, also rickshaw and taxi fares. If you are new to Mumbai, you can rely on M-Indicator to explore Mumbai by fetching popular places to shop, hotels, picnic spots, properties, movies theaters and more. The latest M-indicator version 17 (available for Android and iPhones), lets you check news and updates of western, central, harbour, trans- harbour and Uran lines. Passengers using the app can post real-time status updates of trains using a chat feature.
Ticketing on your phone, using the UTS app
In addition to M-indicator, the UTS app (Unreserved Ticketing System) makes life simpler for commuters. It’s been around for a while now and is available for both, Android devices and iPhones. UTS is an online train ticket booking app, where passengers can avoid long queues and book tickets on their smartphones. The pre-requisites to avail UTS services are that the passenger needs to be above 17 years in age and should own an Android, Windows or iPhone device. Once you have the app installed, register by providing relevant personal details and proceed. You’ll now see a R-wallet with no balance created. R-wallet is a digital wallet by Indian Railway integrated within the UTS app. You need to top-up it is using a payment option such as net banking, debit card, credit card or UPI. Other options to top-up R-wallet are Paytm, MobiKwik and FreeCharge. In addition to local train tickets, you can also book platform and season tickets.
To book paperless tickets, simply enter the source and destination stations and complete the payment process using R-wallet. You can check the booking history or view recently booked tickets under the “Show Booked Ticket” tab. This is also useful when the Ticket Checker (TC) asks for it. The paperless ticket is valid for two hours from the time of booking. Passengers can issue passes or renew monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly train passes using the app. Click on the season ticket tap, enter journey details and personal details to confirm. The paper mode of tickets can be booked from anywhere. On using this option, the passenger is assigned a unique booking ID along with ticket details via SMS. An individual must enter the booking ID on the ATVM, OCR machine from the originating station and take a print of it.
UTS app is easy to use and make life simpler. There are few things to keep in mind when using this app. To avoid misuse of this online ticket service, tickets must be booked between 30 meters to 2 km from the source railway station. Also, the passenger travelling must carry the smartphone from which the ticket is booked.
Alternative modes of commuting
Besides trains, many of us might travel by BEST or NMMT buses for shorter commutes. Mumbai also has a strong network of buses. Like local trains, travelling in peak hours can be hectic at times. Imagine standing in a crowded bus and the bus conductor asks for a ticket. The act of balancing yourself and searching your wallet for change, for buying ticket is sheer chaos. Now, you can book bus tickets from your smartphone using the Ridlr app. It is similar to the UTS ticket booking app, but it lets you buy BEST and NMMT bus tickets online. Simple select the bus number, add the number of passengers and make the payment. Provide the token number to the ticket conductor and you’ll be given a printed ticket. The app additionally works as a travel planner, helping you find the best route, checking traffic situation and bus stops close to you.
The above mentioned apps are very useful for planning journeys and issuing tickets for trains and buses in a crowded city like Mumbai. The biggest advantage of these apps is it helps making daily commutes to work easy, saving time and money. These apps are truly a savior in a vast city like Mumbai.
