Pune: In a major hiccup for Pune's daily commuters, the Pune Metro's popular WhatsApp ticketing service was offline for nearly six hours on Monday morning. This led to widespread confusion, long queues, and delays during the crucial peak rush.
The outage struck from 6:00 am to 11:45 am, right when thousands rely on the instant messaging platform for seamless ticket booking. Many people use the metro to go to work, and as most corporate and government offices start from 8 am to 10 am, the metro services lagging in this time proved to be inconvenient for many passengers.
Many users staring at their screens received a stark message: “Service closed for the day.” This triggered immediate panic among regular passengers. Passengers feared a full-day blackout and scrambled for alternatives.
Metro Public Relations Officer Chandrashekhar Tambekar attributed the shutdown to essential system maintenance and repair work, assuring it was a one-off technical necessity. The service bounced back just before noon. However, it did not dodge the peak morning time of 8 am to 10 am.
Multiple high-traffic stations, including PCMC Bhavan, PMC, Garware College, Swargate and others, bore the brunt. Ticket counters overflowed with frustrated crowds.
"I was late for my 9 am meeting because the app wouldn't load either," noted an office goer in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area. She echoed sentiments from dozens who spoke to reporters. Others added that they love WhatsApp ticketing for its speed -- no lines, just a quick chat. “This felt like going back to the Stone Age," noted a student while speaking to a Marathi daily.
Launched to ease urban congestion, the WhatsApp service has become a lifeline for Pune Metro's 50,000+ daily riders. It offers QR code tickets in seconds. Its abrupt downtime exposed vulnerabilities in digital reliance amid the city's growing metro network.
Officials have since confirmed full restoration and promised advance notices for future maintenance, aiming to prevent repeats.
