Chennai One app to be a reality as TN agrees to bear 1.39% platform fee

CHENNAI: The disagreement over sharing the platform fee for the proposed unified ticketing software application for public transport in Chennai, a key issue that was delaying the roll out of the system, has been resolved. The state government has agreed to bear the platform fee of 1.39% (on the ticket fare) charged by the unified Chennai One mobile app, which will integrate services of Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL), MTC buses, Southern Railway, Namma Yatri autos and cab aggregators, enabling commuters to access seamless end-to-end travel. The government is expected to pay around Rs 3 crore per year as platform fee to CUMTA that will manage the application. Trials of the Chennai One app, which began in June, have been successful, and CM M K Stalin is expected to launch it for public use shortly, official sources said. Initially, CMRL, MTC and Southern Railway had opposed paying the platform fee, citing reduced ticket revenue. A CUMTA official said, Railways, CMRL, MTC and other agencies will receive their full ticket fare credited to their accounts at the end of each day. While CMRL, MTC, Namma Yatri, and cab aggregators have agreed to proceed with the launch, Southern Railway has maintained that its trials are still under way. An official told TNIE, Several technical challenges are delaying the integration of the Railways Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) with CUMTAs unified platform. Ticketing through the app will be included only after these issues are resolved. CUMTA officials, however, remained optimistic that the problems will be addressed in the coming days. The government has deposited Rs 30 lakh as rolling funds in Southern Railways account. The railways can instantly deduct the ticket fare from the rolling deposit, which will be reimbursed from the days fare collections at the end of the day. , the official said. CUMTA has already signed a non-disclosure agreement with Southern Railway. An MoU will be signed either before or soon after the apps launch, the official added.