Online and on track for travel
“The ticket hall was always filled with people. Passengers often lined up in front of the window and waited as long as 15 hours to get a ticket home,” recalled Li Jing, describing the scenes at Taiyuan South railway station during the buildup to the Spring Festival exodus in the past.
The 45-year-old is deputy director of the ticket bureau at the station in Shanxi province, and she is also in charge of the inquiries and assistance desk.
In 2011, Li, who has worked for the railway for a quarter of a century, sold 40,254 tickets between Jan 19 and Feb 27, the highest number by any vendor at the bureau.
In 2012, China Railway Corp, the national railway operator, launched the full online ticket booking system, so most passengers no longer need to line up at booking windows.
According to a report published by the corporation earlier this month, more than 60 percent of tickets were booked online, and 40 percent of all tickets were booked through 12306, a mobile phone app.
Although the service has benefited the majority of passengers, it presents a challenge to a large number of seniors, who have little knowledge of the internet or mobile phone apps.
On Jan 13, the first day of this year’s Spring Festival rush, Li opened a hotline to help seniors age 70 or older to book tickets at the station.
Senior citizens are more comfortable with making phone calls than with booking tickets online, which can be a rather complicated process for many of them.
“Although their children booked tickets for them online, many of them were unable to use the selfhelp ticket collection machines at the station and came to the inquiry desk for help,” she said, adding that her team can also help seniors to collect their reserved tickets at the station.
Since Jan 13, about five to six passengers have used the service every day. “It is still very new,” said Li, who anticipates that user numbers will grow substantially.
Interested passengers are invited to use online group chats, and Li releases relevant information on social media platforms and works with the local radio station to publicize the service.