This document proposes a mobile ticketing system for local trains in India using text SMS. It would allow passengers to purchase tickets, platform tickets, and passes by sending an SMS query to a single gateway number. The gateway would identify the user's mobile provider, authenticate payment from the user's account balance, and send an SMS confirmation or rejection. This system could generate over 400 crore INR annually by charging a small fee per ticket. It would be implemented in phases, starting with platform tickets to test the system before expanding to local train tickets and passes.

1. M – SEVA: MOBILE TICKETING Local train booking system through Text SMS on mobile

2. Contents Executive Summary Present Scenario Business Opportunity Service Offering Strategy and Implementation Summary Financial Plan

3. Executive Summary Objective – To simplify the present printed ticket system for Local Train, Platform Ticket and Pass system. Idea – To offer simple unified text SMS based gateway for mobile ticketing system. Plan – This will be the Next Google for Ticketing Offer a single number SMS gateway which gets a query from a user to buy a ticket. The gateway identifies the telecom service provider and sends a request to the service provider for validity and also for authenticating payment based on the account balance. Once it gets the response positive or negative, the gateway notifies the user with SMS response about the ticket purchase transaction done or not. This requires a unified gateway and database handling system along with a ties up of all telecom companies and Ministry to provide a simple text SMS based service.

4. Present Scenario People stand in long queues to buy tickets. There are ticket printing costs and human resources involved in disbursing the tickets.

5. Business Opportunity There are over 11 million Passengers travelling in Local trains on a daily basis (Mumbai – Delhi) They spend on an average Rs. 10/ day in tickets. Total spending = 11 Million *Rs. 10 = RS. 110 Million / day = 110*365 days = Rs. 40,150 Million With over 300 Million mobile phone users in India it’s pertinent that a majority of passengers carry a mobile phone with basic Text SMS service with them. At a rough estimate of 10% of total passenger volume carrying a mobile phone spending Rs.10/ day on tickets would still be Rs. 40150*10% = Rs. 4015 Million A 1 Re cost sharing per ticket with Government would mean 10% of Rs 4015 Million = Rs 401.5 Million revenue.

6. Service Offering A unique text SMS mobile gateway which will receive a query from users and uniquely identify the user through his mobile number. The gateway identifies the telecom service provider and routes the ticket purchase request to the telecom provider and based on the credit balance on the mobile number accepts or rejects the requests and if accepted sends a confirmation of ticket SMS or a Rejection SMS to the user.

7. Strategy and Implementation Summary There will be 3 phases of the entire project. Phase 1: Platform Ticketing System Phase 2: Local Train Ticketing System Phase 3: Local Train Pass System Various scenarios for ticket purchase etc will be tested out. As the volume for this is much lower then the local train ticketing or passes this will act as the right platform for load and query handling test. Post the successful implementation of the platform ticket, the local ticketing will be implemented in less load stations and then in a phased manner in larger stations. This will be followed by the pass system implementation. The gateway will also provide Validation service for the TTs to tell if the passenger has genuine ticket or not.

8. Financial Plan Investments Revenue Generation Timelines Return on Investment Profits.