Maharashtra: Govt unveils online e-pass facility for suburban trains

MUMBAI: The government on Thursday launched an online e-pass facility linked to CoWin to enable those fully vaccinated to travel on suburban trains. The BMC said the ‘Universal Travel Pass’ system allows travellers to obtain an e-pass without physical verification.
On the other hand, the off-line system unveiled on Wednesday had more passengers lining up with identity cards and vaccine certificates in order to purchase monthly season tickets.

The weblink- https://epassmsdma.mahait.org was initially developed by the state’s Relief and Rehabilitation wing to provide e-passes to those in essential services. Recent procedures to integrate the portal with CoWin were completed in less than three days with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s consent and the help of MAHA-IT, Maharashtra Knowledge Innovation Society and a few start-ups.
Now, it will be available to members of the public provided they are fully vaccinated. “This weblink will be available on all browsers. The e-pass must be saved on a mobile and, on showing it at a ticket window, commuters get a monthly travel pass. So offline verification will not be required,” an official said.
Citizens who have completed 14 days after being administered a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will be eligible for this e-pass facility. “Those who apply will be verified for their immunisation status through this link. No human interaction will be required. Anyone who applies before completion of 14 days after taking the second dose will receive an e-pass only after 14 days,” the official said.
An official said the state is also considering using the universal pass for air travel and entry to malls. "The system requires only a photograph, all the other details are linked to CoWin. Once the photograph is uploaded, the verification takes a few minutes and a pass will be generated within 24 hours," said an official.
Meanwhile, the off-line Universal Travel pass system continues to receive a steady response. The BMC desks verified 21,718 Covid certificates on Thursday, roughly 3,000 more than the number on Wednesday. The process requires a potential traveller to present her vaccination certificate and photo identity card to the facilitation desk along with a photocopy of the I-card. Once validated, the traveller can purchase a monthly season pass from the railway ticket window.
A CR spokesperson said, “Till 6 pm, a total 17,775 season tickets were sold with most being at Dombivli (1,314), followed by Thane (1,042). A WR spokesperson said, “We sold 5,949 season tickets between 7 am and 6 pm.” A senior CR official said, “We expect an increase in issuance of MST (monthly season tickets) as online system has gone live.”
(With inputs from Bhavika Jain)