On The Rails
Source:Egypt Today
From:Taiwan Trade Center, Cairo
Update Time:2019/09/16
Railway Booking application - CC via pixabay
The number of passengers using the railway system in Egypt reached 21.9
million in January, as the train remains considered an easy and comfortable means of transport for traveling round the country independently. Yet, the system does
not come without errors.
Seeking to relieve crowds at the station, and to avoid queues outside ticket kiosks, the Ministry of Transport officially launched a new application in October 2018 that would help users book their ride via mobile phones for the first
time.
Egypt’s first railway line was established in1851; and since then, booking tickets has always been through ticket booths, requiring passengers to head to the station hours before their trip’s departure time to save seats. A website was available in recent years for online bookings, but it would often crash and was criticised for
not being user-friendly.
The new free application, its name in English translating to “Egypt Trains – Booking and Inquiries,” is considered one of the latest bids in the government’s move for the digital transformation of services, aiming to relieve the ordeals often involved in the booking process, especially for people using the trains on a frequent basis to commute for work across different governorates.
Assigned to be the application’s developer, Transport Information Technology CO (TransIT) has introduced it for Android users, and is working to adapt the service to other operating systems, like IOS. The application has attracted around 80,915 users thus far, while the total number of people who installed the app hit 210,371, the company announced.
By installing the app, booking tickets will become at travelers’ fingertips, and they will conclude the process through their phones by creating profiles, following registration steps and paying by credit cards.
The new application does not replace standard ticket purchases at the stations.
Assigned to be the application’s developer, Transport Information Technology CO (TransIT) has introduced it for Android users, and is working to adapt the service to other operating systems, like IOS. The application has attracted around 80,915 users thus far, while the total number of people who installed the app hit 210,371, the company announced.
By installing the app, booking tickets will become at travelers’ fingertips, and they will conclude the process through their phones by creating profiles, following registration steps and paying by credit cards.
The new application does not replace standard ticket purchases at the stations.
E-booking experience
Currently available only in Arabic language, the application asks users to create a registered profile by entering their names and national ID numbers. Users who already have accounts on the Egyptian National Railways Authority’s website will not need to sign up again.
Users need to enter their visa card number, through which they will electronically purchase the tickets, after selecting precise dates and seat numbers.
The application allows users to make complaints and to leave recommendations for better service. Each passenger can book up to four tickets, with their names added to the tickets.
The application asks users to approve a list of conditions and regulations, which include that the main passenger should be the owner of the visa card used in the booking process, or that the ticket holder should be one of his/her relatives. Then users determine the arrival and departure stations, the date and time of travel, the train class and the number of seats.
Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/15/73230/On-The-Rails