Mumbai Railways Aims to Stop Ticketless Travel Using Dynamic QR Codes

As per the news reports, Mumbai’s suburban railway network is taking a significant step to combat ticketless travel by introducing dynamic QR codes for its local train ticketing system. 

The move follows rampant misuse of static QR codes, which allowed commuters to bypass ticket counters and app restrictions, leading to inaccurate passenger counts and overloading of the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) app.

Misuse of Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) QR Codes

The UTS app, used for booking unreserved tickets, operates with a geofencing restriction. Normally, commuters must be at least 20 to 25 metres away from the station or railway tracks to purchase tickets through the app. This was designed to prevent bookings directly on the platform.

To make ticketing more convenient, station-specific QR codes were placed at station entrances. By scanning these codes, passengers could bypass the geofencing restriction and book tickets instantly without queuing.

However, these QR codes are currently static, meaning they contain fixed details about the station and do not change over time. Once posted online, they can be saved and reused indefinitely. Commuters looking to misuse the system often save these QR codes on their devices and scan them from their galleries whenever ticket checkers are spotted, enabling them to book tickets without being physically present at the station.

How Static QR Code Misuse Works

The static codes allow passengers to purchase tickets remotely, even at the last minute, without boarding at the designated origin station. This has led to several issues, including:

• An increased load on the ticketing system due to remote bookings.
• Potential delays or crashes in the UTS app.
• Inaccurate passenger data affecting crowd management.

Such misuse undermines the efficiency of the ticketing system and results in losses for the railways.

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Conclusion 

Dynamic QR codes will include time-based or user-specific data that changes frequently. This feature will make it impossible for a stored code to be reused later. With this system, QR codes displayed at stations will expire after a set interval or be unique to each booking attempt. This prevents passengers from scanning stored images, ensuring that only those physically present at the station can book tickets through the UTS app.

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