Common sense told me that it would cost a bull-dozer. I decided to check up at the ticket counter at Saidapet without waiting for the snaking queue and figured that it would cost me a maximum of Rs. - 2/= (Minus 2 rupees).
You pay Rs. 100 and get a Smart Card loaded with Rs. 52/- (no forms to fill, no questions asked, no name, no contact info, no nothing!). You can use the card to purchase tickets for your self, family, boyfriend, girlfriend .. Heck! you can even start a ticketing stall next to the machine for passengers who wouldnt mind paying you an extra buck or two for faster service! Lets assume that you're honest and do not wish to make an entrepreneurial venture out of this ticket vending "b-plan" (or "plan-b" in times of recession!). When you dont need that card, you can surrender it at the counter and get a full refund of the security deposit (Rs. 50). Total value gained from card: 50 + 52 = 102/-. Amount you pay = Rs. 100/-. Therefore, Cost of card = Rs. - 2/- .. and this calculation doesn't yet consider the opportunity cost of the time saved.
Take a minimum estimate. Say, you wait at the ticketing queue for a total of 25 minutes every week. This works out to a little over 107 minutes a month. If you are earning ~ 400 rupees per hour then, per month:
The time saved is worth = Rs. 714.28 + Flexibility of giving it to your friends/ family (legal) = Rs. 100 + Avoid getting yelled at for not having exact change = Rs. 200. Total cost saved = Rs. 1014.28 .. and if you quantify "escaping the agony" aspect of waiting in a sweaty queue, its much higher! Okay, stop reading my blog. Get a Smart Card.. get smart. Now!
