Indian Railways have a long history, dating back over 160 years. The first passenger train operated between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane, a distance of 34 kilometers, on April 16, 1853. It had thirteen carriages and was pulled by three locomotives called Sahib, Sultan, and Sindh.

We have come very far from that 3-locomotive train journey.

With an extensive railway network spread out over more than 126,366 Km over 67,368 Km and with over 7000 stations, India has one of the largest railways networks. 

These are used for inter-state connectivity and the Metro transit system was introduced to facilitate intra-city transit.

On 24th October 1984, the first official metro line was functional in Kolkata now referred to as the tram.

With over 23 million daily travelers, Indian Railways is the go-to option for a large chunk of the population. 

The majority of metro cities have metro lines eg. Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc., which means they see a lot of travelers every day.

All these travelers are looking to save as much time as they can and ticket vending machines are the answer to all their woes!

 

What is a Ticket Vending Machine?

A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that prints paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card, smart card, or the user’s mobile wallet, which is often accessed through a smartphone. 

 

How does a ticket vending machine work?

Token machines can deliver tickets in the form of tokens that work similarly to paper or electronic tickets. 

A typical transaction is a user selecting the kind and amount of tickets via the display interface, followed by a payment option of cash, credit/debit card, or smart card.

With metros, you need to choose the destination, choose the number of tickets or tokens, and then proceed to pay using either cash or any other digital payment mode.

 

What are the advantages of a ticket vending machine?

At railway stations, bus stations, metro stations, and airports, passenger ticket vending devices create fare tickets, which can be accessed without any additional assistance.

It is a more operationally efficient alternative than traditional ticketing systems since it removes the need for long lines at public transit stations and saves a lot of time.

 

Ticket Vending machine market size

The worldwide passenger ticket vending machine market is being driven by changes in urban commuting outlook and an increase in digital technology adoption. 

Furthermore, the adoption of smart technology in the public transportation sector directly impacts the demand for passenger ticket vending machines.

The market for passenger ticket vending machines is divided into four categories: component, input type, application, and geography. It is divided into hardware and software based on the component. 

It is divided into smart cards, near-field communications, and other input types. 

It is divided into railway stations, subway stations, bus stations, and airports depending on the use.

 

Disadvantages of ticket vending machines?

With a considerable population not being as tech-savvy, it is not viable for them to use these machines as they do not understand the concept and trust traditional ways.

They need to be made aware and provided assistance for the same.

Ticket vending machines often suffer through technical glitches like notes not being accepted, proper change unavailable, etc.

Earlier only cash was the accepted payment mode but now even they have been updated to take several other payment modes.

 

Read More:

Benefits of vending machines in Hotels [2023]

 

Conclusion

Automatic ticket vending machines might be comparatively newer and might sometimes not function in the manner that they are supposed to but with time they are going to improve and become indispensable parts of the railways and the metro systems just like they have become a part of our daily lives.