Free ride in city if bus conductor can not issue printed ticket

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Aug 27, 2019: City private bus conductors must feel responsible to provide tickets. Several warnings have been issued to compulsorily provide printed tickets to the passengers. Yet, the rule is being blatantly ignored and in order to counter this, a new campaign - ‘Free travel if no ticket issued’ is being introduced - Dilraj Alva, President of City Bus Owners Association.

In spite of attempts made by the members of the city bus owners association to make bus conductors give tickets to passengers travelling in city buses, the rule has failed to be implemented effectively. In this backdrop, the members have come up with an innovative initiative according to which the passengers can have a free ride if the conductor fails to give bus ticket from month of September.

Through this new method efforts will made to compel  bus conductors to become aware of need for giving tickets to passengers.
The awareness programme titled ‘Free travel if there is no ticket’ will begin from September month and will be implemented in 45 buses on an experimental basis.

Initially, the system will be introduced in the bus route no 27 between State Bank and Mangaladevi,  route no 13 bus between State Bank – Ullal and route no 5 bus plying between State Bank-Morgan’s Gate. . Later it will implement in all the city buses.

As per this campaign, conductors must compulsorily provide the bus ticket to the passenger. If in case the conductor fails to give the ticket, the passenger need not pay the fare and can travel for free. Besides, in order to make sure the compulsory implementation of the ticket rule in the city buses, a team made up of bus owners will be monitoring operations in this regard in the city.

The transport department has already passed a rule according to which, all city buses must compulsorily make use of electronic ticketing machine. But the conductors of most of the buses plying in the city do not follow this rule. The city bus owners association has already given an order to bus conductors for the strict following of this rule, even then, the rule is not being followed and therefore the association has come forward this new ‘Free travel if there is no ticket’ system.

The passenger normally pays the fare first and then is issued a ticket and change if needed. it needs to be clarified how will the passenger recover the money from the conductor if ticket is not issued. A proper notice needs to be displayed in the bus.