Rail passengers blink on ‘Clean My Coach’ app

Rail passengers blink on ‘Clean My Coach’ app
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Hyderabad: Rail passengers always complain about unhygienic coaches but they are too complacent to call “On Board Housekeeping Service” (OBHS) to clean the coaches.

Hyderabad: Rail passengers always complain about unhygienic coaches but they are too complacent to call “On Board Housekeeping Service” (OBHS) to clean the coaches.

A simple SMS is all that is required, but statistics prove that Indians prefer not to beckon the cleaning staff.

The Union Budget 2017 proposed to introduce ‘Coach Mitra’ facility, a single window interface, to register all coach related complaints and requirements as an extension service to the already existing “Clean My Coach” service.

But what necessitated the proposal was the lukewarm response to the service that was launched in March 2016.

Passengers could get the coaches and toilets cleaned by putting a request on the app or send an SMS with the PNR number and within 15 minutes a cleaner would come and attend to the request.

But blame the passengers, just a few use the app. For instance, since the launch of the app last year, just about 76,082 requests were served. The service is available in 1,908 trains in 17 zones.

In SCR, “Clean My Coach” service is available on 62 pairing trains which cater to roughly 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh passengers daily but only 1,802 users registered in the 2016-17 period translating to just 7.39 intimations a day.

A senior railway official said people talked about unclean coaches but when there was a facility they just were too complacent to use the facility.

Normally, the cleaning staff move in three coaches and it may be difficult for passengers to locate them. “An SMS is all that is required which is transferred to him and he will attend to the passenger’s grievance in 15 minutes,” the officials said.

Passengers could send their requests as SMS to 58888 by typing CLEAN<Space>10-digit PNR number>< Space >Service type code.

(Service Type available: C for Cleaning, W for Watering, P for Pest Control, B for Bedroll) On board housekeeping service (OBHS) is provided to facilitate cleaning of coaches while train is in motion.

The OBHS includes scheduled cleaning of coaches twice in a day and unscheduled cleaning at any time on demand of passenger.

Railway officials said that “Coach Mitra” hopefully would become popular and simultaneously awareness among passengers on Cl­e­an My Coach app improves.

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