Avoid the crowds, book your local train ticket online

Fully jabbed citizens wait in queues for tickets at Andheri stn. File pic

You can now book tickets for travelling in Mumbai local trains online and avoid crowds at booking counters, as the mobile ticketing app - UTS (Universal Ticketing System) - is now open on both Android and IOS platforms.

As reported by mid-day earlier, the app has now been successfully linked to the Universal Ticketing App of the Maharashtra government for verification of vaccine certificates. Anil Kumar Lahoti, general manager, Central Railway, said that linking the UTS app with Universal Pass will enable passengers to get their tickets seamlessly without any hassle.

"Any person who has received both doses of vaccine and has completed 14 days since the last dose had to take the state government's Universal Pass which was issued after due verification of vaccination status on a government portal. Passengers then had to produce the Universal Pass at the ticket counter to purchase the ticket. Now, the government portal has been linked to the UTS app wherein the above mentioned category of passengers can buy a ticket without going to the counter," Lahoti said.

He added, "Through this app, both single journey and season ticket can be issued. Renewal of season tickets is also possible. There is no need for passengers to go to the counters to buy tickets. This updated facility will be available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store from November 24."

"During the pandemic, the app was suspended as there was no system to verify the vaccination status of passengers. Now the app will be open for the public with proper vaccination verification. This new and updated application is a standalone example where the Railway server is shaking hands with an external server for validation of tickets," he said.

Design city's tourist bus!

The BEST undertaking has asked Mumbaikars to design the new Hop On Hop Off (Ho Ho) tourist buses. ‘Design Mumbai Ho Ho Bus campaign' is open to all citizens and suggestions can be sent on probestundertaking@gmail.com till November 30.