Online booking to happen for passenger and tourism boats; android machines with 5G support to replace current ticket machines

KOCHI: Online ticket booking system is coming up for passenger and tourism boats of the Water Transport Department. QR code will be received while booking the ticket through the website or mobile app. This should be shown to take the trip.

One crore has been earmarked for this purpose. The project will soon be submitted for approval by the government. The first plan was to implement online booking for tourism boats, but later it was extended to include passenger boats as well. A certain percentage of tickets will be set aside to be purchased directly from the jetties, which is yet to be decided. Tickets can be bought from the boat as well.

The existing ticket machines will be replaced with Android machines with 5G support. The QR code received by the passengers will be scanned with the machine. The aim is to implement the project within six months. Travel passes can also be renewed by entering a QR code.

Only online on tourist boats

Tourist boats will have an online ticketing system only. Currently, tickets are booked in tourist boats by calling the phone numbers provided by the department. A system will also be prepared to book seats of choice in tourist boats.