E-Paper
Transport staff take dept, commuters for a ride
The next time you pay for a ride in a local bus, make sure the conductors gives you a valid ticket.
The next time you pay for a ride in a local bus, make sure the conductors gives you a valid ticket.
Reason: A few city bus conductors and drivers are busy making merriment by pocketing the money collected as fares while the transport department is registering revenue losses.
A senior official of the local transport authority acknowledged the problem. "We receive many complaints from the commuters about this illegal practice. We will take appropriate action to stop this practice," said the transport official.
However, additional chief secretary (transport) Ramendra Jakhu has some solutions up his sleeves.
He said the department will take strict action against "employees who are involved in such illegal practice".
"We will soon introduce ticket-vending machines in city buses," said Jakhu.
Sometimes, conductors hand over tickets of lower denominations so as to avoid depositing the entire amount to the department.
"The practice of not giving tickets is routine in the city buses. If passengers demand tickets from conductors, they misbehave," said Parvesh Sharma, a regular commuter.
Some conductors do not give the tickets despite repeated pleas by the passengers.
"I boarded a bus near Sukhrali and wanted to get down at MG Road. I paid the conductor for the ticket. However, he did not give me the ticket and instead proceeded to collect money from other passengers," said another commuter. When I asked for my ticket, he said, "Don't worry, no one will ask for it."
The city bus service has earlier been suspended for running into losses.
