Though I have not yet booked any tickets through IRCTC, many of my friends and relatives have done the same. And everytime they have the same thing to ask,
with increduility writ large across their faces or loaded in their voices! And I thought what better way than to raise this topic here on this forum and try
and get an authoritative answer from the horse's mouth (read Financre & Commercial Directorates-Upreti Sir,pl. reply:))
WHY IS THAT IRCTC CHARGES MORE FOR TICKETS ISSUED THROUGH ITS WEBSITE?
I had the good fortune of meeting one of the officers of IRCTC incharge of e-ticketing and as is my wont, I asked him this nagging question as well. (I wonder how I forgot to ask Upreti Sir when I met him during his Railway Board award festivities!) HIs reply stumped me. He implied, in so many words, that Board didnot allow IRCTC to charge less from the passengers.
Organisation the world over are decreasing cost by adopting IT, decreasing manpower cost and passing on the advantage of cost savings to the end beneficiaries. One of the main reasons why the banks are opening ATMs and increasing web-interface is that it reduces the serpentine lines in branches as well as the need for fullfledged newer branches. IR also spends billions on PRS, its network, hardware,AMC,replacement,channel etc. And IR is opening more and more new PRS despite IRCTC, ticket through ATMs, through petrol pumps, malls,postoffices etc. If a ticket is bought through IRCTC it means our PRS had a reduced load of 1 customer which led to a saving of staff cost and paraphernalia associated with it. Hene we need to encourage more and more people to book through IRCTC. This can be done if we offer them some incentive, inducement,enticement. And that can be done only if we start selling tickets through IRCTC which will come marginally cheaper, say 20 rupees, than the normal cost.
For example, suppose total yearly booking at PRS X is of 1 lakh tickets.Suppose those one lakh tickets get sold through IRCTC due to reduced cost being offered through it. So IR loses 20 Lakhs on the cost of tickets. But as PRS X is no more needed (entire workload having moved onto IRCTC through web-based system), we save on the entire hardware cost, staff cost (pensioon cost,pass cost, leave included), real estate cost, building construction cost, AMC cost, replacement cost, networking cost, channel hiring cost. Believe you me, a smaller PRS at a new location cost more than 1 croe for setting up (including real estate cost) and more than 20 Lakhs per annum (including staff cost) for running. Hence offering reduced fare through IRCTC and higher from PRS will not only be beneficial to us but it will also lead to more businesssense.
I request DF(Finance Commercial) and other concerned officers including those from IRCTC to throw some light on this topic. I believe that first wave of financial empowerment of Railways have come from newer vistas of earning, the next will come from reduced expenditure by adopting various measures including IT. And both will lead to the same result- continuance of the turnaround saga.
Can and should we not maintain a differential pricing system and offer slightly cheaper rate through IRCTC?
scmitra
WHY IS THAT IRCTC CHARGES MORE FOR TICKETS ISSUED THROUGH ITS WEBSITE?
I had the good fortune of meeting one of the officers of IRCTC incharge of e-ticketing and as is my wont, I asked him this nagging question as well. (I wonder how I forgot to ask Upreti Sir when I met him during his Railway Board award festivities!) HIs reply stumped me. He implied, in so many words, that Board didnot allow IRCTC to charge less from the passengers.
Organisation the world over are decreasing cost by adopting IT, decreasing manpower cost and passing on the advantage of cost savings to the end beneficiaries. One of the main reasons why the banks are opening ATMs and increasing web-interface is that it reduces the serpentine lines in branches as well as the need for fullfledged newer branches. IR also spends billions on PRS, its network, hardware,AMC,replacement,channel etc. And IR is opening more and more new PRS despite IRCTC, ticket through ATMs, through petrol pumps, malls,postoffices etc. If a ticket is bought through IRCTC it means our PRS had a reduced load of 1 customer which led to a saving of staff cost and paraphernalia associated with it. Hene we need to encourage more and more people to book through IRCTC. This can be done if we offer them some incentive, inducement,enticement. And that can be done only if we start selling tickets through IRCTC which will come marginally cheaper, say 20 rupees, than the normal cost.
For example, suppose total yearly booking at PRS X is of 1 lakh tickets.Suppose those one lakh tickets get sold through IRCTC due to reduced cost being offered through it. So IR loses 20 Lakhs on the cost of tickets. But as PRS X is no more needed (entire workload having moved onto IRCTC through web-based system), we save on the entire hardware cost, staff cost (pensioon cost,pass cost, leave included), real estate cost, building construction cost, AMC cost, replacement cost, networking cost, channel hiring cost. Believe you me, a smaller PRS at a new location cost more than 1 croe for setting up (including real estate cost) and more than 20 Lakhs per annum (including staff cost) for running. Hence offering reduced fare through IRCTC and higher from PRS will not only be beneficial to us but it will also lead to more businesssense.
I request DF(Finance Commercial) and other concerned officers including those from IRCTC to throw some light on this topic. I believe that first wave of financial empowerment of Railways have come from newer vistas of earning, the next will come from reduced expenditure by adopting various measures including IT. And both will lead to the same result- continuance of the turnaround saga.
Can and should we not maintain a differential pricing system and offer slightly cheaper rate through IRCTC?
scmitra
