Introduction: UTS app refers to Unreserved ticketing system. This is Indian government’s railway app which was started as a pilot project for buying unreserved tickets through mobile phone was Initially, select stations on Central Railway were chosen to provide customers the convenience of booking unreserved train tickets, but gradually it was extended to almost all stations in country.
Working: A passenger has to be within a five-kilometre range of the source station to be able to buy a ticket through the UTS app.The passenger is allowed to book four tickets at a time and thus refrain the need for passengers to wait in queues. The process of availing tickets involves downloading the application and registration by furnishing the requisite details. After successful registration, the user is given a user-ID and password, which the person can use to log-in and book tickets.
Review:
UTS is a sort of monopoly or you can say there is no real alternative for booking local tickets online, Hence it has a huge user base. But, only if it was enough ! Although the idea of this app is quiet passenger friendly and hastle free, but the execution of this app is’nt really that user friendly and impressive.
I loved how the Indian Railways had taken an initiative of creating an online app for booking unreserved train tickets and sharing train information, and the app is UTS. Talking about the app, the app is good but it’s not really user-friendly and I believe it needs to be highly user-friendly as it is used by the huge population of India, and they come from different backgrounds and age groups.
It is in use by 10 million+(according to play store downloads) users and if we see play store reviews it’s kind of above-average and people are happy with it, then what is making it a not so user-friendly app? Lets dig deep into the pros and cons of this app.
Pros:
1)Option to print a ticket: This feature is a charm I feel, A user can use it when the phone’s battery is running low, or can use it to book a ticket for a friend or someone.
2)No screenshot allowed
Now this might sounds a bit weird, like how it helps? It does help and beats a loophole, So now no one can take one ticket’s screenshot and share it with 10 friends so they all have a ticket(screenshot of the ticket), while all 10 paid only for 1 ticket. No screenshot feature beats this loophole.
3)R-wallet for quick transactions:
Most of the people using this app wants to book a quick ticket, and adding card details, waiting for OTPs, is not the best way, Hence UTS introduced R-Wallet for quick transactions, which has other benefits as well like discounts and more.
4) Offline Ticket support:
Once you had booked the ticket, even if your device is in offline mode you can open the app and see your booked tickets.
5)Extreme boon for daily job people, Elderly, and students who travel frequently. Saves time and paper too!
Cons:
1)”Server down” issue, bugs and glitches is frequent in this app
2)You can’t login from multiple devices.
3)Distance restrictions are frustrating at times as one can book successfully only if he/she is 5km away from the railway station concerned.
4)Refund processing in case of cancellations is slow and tiring.
5) it doesn’t remain logged in and will log you out after every session. This takes away another little bit of convenience that we associate with mobile apps.
6) UTS app account is attached to both your mobile number and your phone. This means that if you change your handset, you will have to submit a headset change request to be able to use the same account on a different phone.
CONCLUSION: The idea behind the UTS app is good but the execution remains flawed. The app is little less on efficiency scale, Technical structure and user friendliness. Only if all these shortcomings are worked upon, this app would prove to be a game changer for many.
written by :DEEPAKSHI SETH
Street Paradise 
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