The Guardian newspaper reporter in Kaduna State, Abdulganiyu Alabi, has designed an e-ticketing application, Trainwise, which can allow people to book for Abuja/Kaduna and Lagos/Ibadan Standard Gauge trains ticket, using their mobile phones.
According to Alabi, the app will help to check ticket racketeering and relieve train passengers of the stress of queuing for hours to buy tickets.
He added that the app would help train stations to automate the booking process and be more transparent to customers.
Urging the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to adopt the app, the reporter said it could solve about 80 per cent of problems at the stations.
Alabi disclosed that he built the app following his desire to solve numerous challenges encountered by train-users.
His words: “I have reported happenings at the stations with other journalists and felt I could solve this problem with my computer knowledge. I can guarantee that if the government adopts the app, travellers will enjoy it.
“My journalism practice helped me a lot because I was able to understand challenges of train-users. Before designing the app, I had to embark on research at train stations.”
On the processes followed to design the app and its features, the journalist said: “I learned the design from a Port Harcourt-based tech expert, Precious Chukundah, coupled with my knowledge from the tech space. I followed the processes to design a functional and simple app, which can allow users to know how many seats are available at a particular moment they intend to book.
“You can book for the train ride from home or anywhere, and the moment you reach the station, all you need do is to show the ticket you purchased to an attendant for QR (Quick Response) code scanning and you will be allowed in.”
