IRCTC Witnesses Increased Traction With 11.61 Crore Tickets. Jostles With Petty Issues

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has managed to sell over 11.6 Crore Tickets within 2011-2012 valuing a total of RS. 9,500 Crores (US$ 1.7 Billion) through its website. Last year the number was 9.69 Crore tickets at a valuation of Rs. 8000 Crores (US$ 1.5 Billion). The Government of India enterprise has come a long way from selling merely 2 Lakh tickets during its initiation year of 2002-03. There is no doubt that IRCTC is being considered as the first choice by travelers as well as agents when it comes to booking tickets for long duration travel on one of the longest rail routes in the world, as well as air-travel, but, that doesn’t mean the portal is not without its fair share of problems.

As it is a Government undertaking, apparently an RTI (Right To Information) query was all that it took to gain access to such information. There were some additional bits of info that would serve well for any upcoming Online Travel Agent (OTA) looking to offer a nation-wide service.

No account of anomalies: The IRCTC accepts that it does not have details of unclaimed amount on account of booked tickets since it only facilitates its customers to book ticket through its website. This huge gap in the information-sharing means the organization doesn’t have a comprehensive idea about how much business, in its entirety, is being generated. While it’s true that railways are the largest cargo ferrying entity in India, they could at least have a decent idea about their collective activities.

Additionally, there’s no account of the disputed or un-booked tickets: There are many complaints of users who try to book tickets on the web-portal. Apart from extreme sluggishness experienced during peak hours, people have had their money deducted from Banks without tickets being issued. While IRCTC claims this happens due to network failure and entry of wrong passwords by passengers, it doesn’t have an account about such failures or shortcomings. The excuse from the organization is almost laughable in business terms, “The complaints regarding non-realization of amount after being deducted from their respective bank accounts are resolved within 3-4 days. This is being done on routine manner basis, as such, record is not maintained.”

This Government’s undertaking sure has facilitated people who would otherwise be at the mercy of agents or ticket booking counters. But such voids need to be plugged soon. What do you think?

Image Courtesy | itzcashworld

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