The Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) has received approval from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to begin the process of selecting e-ticketing service providers for the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe standard gauge rail services.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the ICRC issued NRC an Outline Business Certificate on Sunday, allowing it to process online ticket sales solution providers for the routes under a Public Private Partnership procurement.
Presenting the certification, ICRC Acting Director Mr Mike Ohiani stated that the NRC could now proceed to the concessionaire procurement phase for approval by the Federal Executive Council.
“Previously, tickets were sold in physical stores or delivered to the respective railway ticket train station for purchase.” Ticket vending machines have recently appeared and have improved the efficiency and productivity of train service.
“In recent years, technological advancement has resulted in the emergence of mobile ticketing or E-ticketing.”
“The overall scope of both projects is to design, finance, operate, build, operate, and manage a secure ticketing solution system (Hardware and Software) for passengers’ stations on the Lagos – Ibadan Standard Train Service and the Warri-Itakpe Standard Train Service,” Ohiani explained.
He stated that the implementation of e-ticketing would lower operational costs, reduce the handling of cash and multiple fare media types, and reduce human involvement in on-board fare transactions.
According to Ohiani, e-ticketing will aid in the collection of information, the improvement of passenger service, and the provision of a platform for fare transactions.
Speaking at the event, NRC Managing Director Mr Fidet Okhiria stated that the concessionaire would operate the e-ticketing with NRC staff and handover the technology to them after ten years of operation.
He commended the ICRC for awarding the business certificate to NRC, adding that overbooking and seat shortages would be a thing of the past with the introduction of e-ticketing on the Lagos and Warri railways.
According to NAN, after a two-year procurement process, e-ticketing began on the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service in January of this year, reducing cases of ticket racketeering that had previously plagued the train service.