Mumbai: A video of an argument between the Ticket Checker (TC) and a female passenger at Virar Railway station over the UTS app is going viral on social media. The incident occurred when the TC asked the woman to show her ticket, but the passenger claimed that her UTS was not working. The passenger also said she had already shown her ticket to another TC earlier and questioned why it needed to be checked again. This incident comes at a time whern Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) app has stopped service from March 1.
The video of the incident was shared by Archana Kahar on her Instagram handle. In the video, during the confrontation, the woman passenger repeatedly kept arguing with the TC, insisting she needed to catch her train.
"Apka agar yeh aap nahi chal raha hai to usmein hamari galti hai? (If your app is not working, is that my fault? I don’t have the time, so what am I supposed to do?)
The video also shows the TC calling the railway police to intervene. The passenger is heard telling the police, "Meine ek TC ko pehle chalu karke ticket dikhaya, toh meko haar TC ko kyu dikhana jaruri hai? (I already showed my ticket to one TC, so why do I need to show it to every TC?)"
The railway police politely asked her to show the ticket, but she kept saying that the app was not working.
The issue then escalated as the woman passenger lashed out at the TC and said, "Agar meri train chutti toh uski zimedari apki hai? Mujhe train pakadni hai (If I miss my train, is it your responsibility? I need to catch my train.)"
At one point, as the TC tried to stop her, she told him, "Don’t touch me," and kept arguing, "Why should I show my tickets to every TC coming to check if one has already checked?"
Social media Reactions
Several social media users commented on the video. Many pointed out that Indian Railways had been informing for weeks that the UTS ticketing app would be discontinued and that users should switch to the new RailOne app. Some others said passengers have a responsibility to show a valid ticket whenever asked, regardless of app issues. While a few users said the woman is travelling without a ticket, some even defended her.
A user said, "When the app does not work in case of any glitch, once I witnessed a TC call up some authorities & have them check on their system if the said contact number is registered on UTS and has a valid pass or not. So it's ok, you will panic only when you are wrong & not following the instructions."
Some other user commented, "As a passenger its your responsibility to show the ticket no matter how many times asked by authorities. All he was doing was his job."
Another added, "The UTS app was giving notifications for many days that the app is going to retire and switch to railone."
A user said, "The woman is fake. If the app is closed. She should be caught."
One user defended her, "She is correct, to how many TC need to show a ticket? This is a wrong practice for the railway. Multiple TCs stand in single platform, and all they ask is to show the ticket.TC should cooperate if the app is not working, than tc should cooperate with passengers."
Is UTS aap still working after March 1?
Currently, it is not known when the incident occurred. However, when installing the UTS app, the app is not allowing us to book the ticket and shows a message, "The UTSonMobile app will be permanently discontinued from March 1. Please switch to RailOne to continue enjoying improved services."
