Glitches in ticketing, payment, GPS accessibility mar Chennai One usage

CHENNAI: The newly launched Chennai One app has won praise for making bus and Metro travel easier, but users say it still leaves many behind. Disability rights groups and commuters on social media have pointed out key problems that need quick fixes.

The app, billed as India’s first single-ticket platform for public transport, crossed one lakh downloads on day one. However, campaigners say basic accessibility was overlooked.

“There is not much for disabled persons except the app at the start asking if the user is a disabled person or not. At least, low floor buses should be marked. But, there are concerns beyond that too” said Sathish Kumar, a disability rights activist.

Members of the Freedom of Movement Coalition pointed out that accessibility concerns were flagged right at the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. “Professor Raghuram from Disability Rights Alliance India had tested the screen-reader issues – assistive software that reads aloud text and elements on a smartphone screen for visually impaired users. We met CUMTA earlier to sort that out. Officials had said they would push their concerns in the final version,” said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, who has been tracking the rollout.

The coalition had also placed a series of specific demands such as filters to help commuters differentiate bus categories such as whiteboard, deluxe and low-floor services; clearer colour and pattern coding of bus icons on GPS maps; and mapping of accessible entrances, lifts, foot overbridges, toilets in metro and suburban stations. “CUMTA was supposed to bring Google’s indoor mapping for station interiors. Passengers with reduced mobility also need real-time alerts if lifts or escalators are out of service so that they can make informed choices,” she added.

Raghuram had written to CUMTA on September 17 underscoring the need for this information to be made open-source, allowing third-party apps and services to integrate accessibility data and make it widely usable.

Additionally, commuters have flooded social media with feedback on everyday glitches. Some passengers suggested introducing stop-level codes, similar to bus codes inside vehicles so that tickets can be booked easily without having to rely on GPS, particularly in areas with multiple stops. Others complained that scanning QR codes on buses sometimes throws up tickets for the opposite direction, forcing commuters to book before boarding to avoid confusion.

There have also been calls to expand route options, with many pointing out that only a limited set of services are displayed. “When I pick Medavakkam Junction to Velachery or Broadway, the app only shows two services, but in reality several buses pass through,” one commuter flagged.

Payment integration too remains a demand, with users asking when the Singara Chennai card will be enabled alongside UPI. They have also asked the Metropolitan Transport Corporation to bring in e-verification through POS devices to reduce the burden of conductors manually checking QR tickets.

Officials at CUMTA acknowledged the flood of feedback but stressed that the app is being improved in phases. Since its launch, at least two patch updates have been pushed. “All concerns and feedback will be taken into account. The app will continue to be upgraded to provide better convenience and inclusivity for commuters,” an official said.