BENGALURU: An increasing number of commuters seem to want to keep the round, black coin issued for travel on a Metro train as a souvenir. Namma Metro has now lost a whopping 25,000 tokens of the 3 lakh that was in circulation.
Posters at various points across Metro stations warn commuters of a Rs 200-penalty for walking away with a token. However, due to the lack of an active checking mechanism, people continue to steal the coins.
“Anticipating such behaviour, the token was deliberately designed to not look very attractive. However, commuters seem to take a fancy to it anyway,” laments B L Yashvanth Chavan, General Manager (Operations & Maintenance), Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
The tokens are not as cheap as they look. They are embedded with Radio Frequency Identification chips — which open the gates — and cost Rs 22 a piece.
Chavan further explains the modus operandi of the sentimental traveller: “A person buys one token for the exact cost of the journey and a second token for the cheapest fare available, say Rs 10. The token for the journey is dropped into the slot provided at the exit gate, while the other token is taken away.” The commuter pays Rs 10 out of the token cost of Rs 22. This leaves the Metro with a loss of Rs 12 per stolen token.
“We contemplated numerous mechanisms to stop this but we have realised that they aren’t feasible,” Chavan said.
On the number of individuals involved in the theft, he said, “It is very negligible, a single digit figure. Only when we see an individual walking out with the token in hand can we catch him or her.”
Guard Tails Tourists
Such behaviour is not specific to Bengalureans but also visitors and foreigners. In one such incident, a group of tourists from abroad purchased a set of tokens at the counter and walked out of the station citing some excuse. One of the Metro security guards grew suspicious and tailed them to their hotel to get the tokens back, sources said.
collector hoards 1000 tokens
A real shocker for the Metro, however, was an incident involving a city-based philatelist. “Last year, we came across a website that had put up Metro tokens for sale at $2 a piece. We informed the cyber police who traced the miscreant,” Chavan said.
Why do we take it on the sly?
The officials found out that he had stolen over 1,000 tokens and was trying to make money out of them
The Metro plans to manufacture tokens without RFID chips and sell them as souvenirs in the future, Chavan further said.