WhatsApp ticket booking soon for Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses

CHENNAI: Commuters across Tamil Nadu will soon be able to book bus tickets through WhatsApp, as the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC), Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations (TNSTCs), and Metropolitan Transport Corporation have jointly planned to expand their Online Ticket Reservation System to include the widely used multi-purpose platform.

The Tamil Nadu Mobility and Logistics Corporation Limited (TNMLC), functioning under the Transport Department, has floated a tender to select multiple payment gateway service providers to integrate with the Online Ticket Reservation System (OTRS). The move aims to make ticket booking more accessible, cashless, and user-friendly across all state-run bus services, including the MTC.

At present, tickets are delivered through several channels, including the official website, mobile app, franchisee and e-Seva centres, kiosks, and API-based portals. Once the upcoming WhatsApp ticketing system is implemented, passengers will be able to book, pay, and receive tickets directly on their mobile phones using popular digital payment options, including UPI, credit and debit cards, QR-based services, and wallets such as Google Pay, PhonePe, and WhatsApp Pay.

This will help thousands of passengers, as the SETC and TNSTCs together operate more than 5,000 long-distance bus services across categories such as air-conditioned, sleeper, deluxe and ordinary. TNMLC serves as the nodal agency managing the OTRS, which handles an average of 17,976 seat bookings daily and nearly 5.87 lakh bookings every month. Of this, about 85 per cent come through e-ticketing and mobile platforms, while the remaining 15 per cent come from franchisee counters.

Introduced in 2011, the OTRS has evolved into a comprehensive digital ticketing system enabling passengers to reserve seats from anywhere in the State and even from outside. The new WhatsApp-based booking mode is expected to further improve convenience, especially for frequent travellers and those in rural areas.

As part of the system upgrade, TNMLC has also mandated the creation of a 24/7 helpdesk facility in Chennai to handle payment-related queries from the public. Operated by the selected payment gateway service providers, the help desk will function in Tamil and English and provide round-the-clock assistance to passengers.