COIMBATORE: Passengers travelling in both government and private town buses in Coimbatore alleged that most buses operate without essential information such as route maps, ticket fares, and designated stops.
Misusing this, conductors of some private buses that are operating in the city routes are charging additional extra from passengers who may be unaware of the ticket fare.
K Parthiban, a passenger who took a private bus from the railway station to Gandhipuram last week, told TNIE that when he asked for a ticket, the conductor gave him a Rs 10 ticket when the actual ticket price was just Rs 5. After I objected, the conductor returned Rs 5. However, he was charging Rs 10 to migrant workers who were not aware of the actual fare. All this is because the bus route map, stage details, ticket fare (stage-wise), and complaint numbers are not displayed in the bus.”
C Sivakumar, another passenger told TNIE, “A private bus that operated from Perur to Sitra, did not have many seats. If there are no seats, more number of passengers can travel by standing. So, they can generate more revenue through that. This indicates how the transport officials fail to conduct thorough inspections of private buses.”
N Logu, Coimbatore Consumer Voice secretary told TNIE that as per norms, if a bus does not have details such as route maps, ticket fare, and complaint number, transport officers can levy a penalty of Rs 5,000 for the first time, Rs 10,000 for the second time and upon third infraction, the permit of the bus can also be revoked. However, transport officers are focusing on Omni buses and are failing to conduct proper inspections of city buses leading to adverse effects on passengers. Due to this, conductors are charging additional from passengers who are unaware.
He further said, “Apart from this, conductors also fail to place their name badges over their shirts. Moreover, each bus should have just a single conductor but some youths pretend to be training conductors and disturb the female passengers by standing in the front foot board. The district collector and police commissioner should take action against the bus owners which fail to adhere to norms.”
S K M Sivakumaran, joint transport commissioner, Coimbatore, told TNIE that the officers are overseeing the buses and he assured that he would take necessary measures to address the missing details on buses and other issues.
When asked about it, a top officer from TNSTC, Coimbatore region told TNIE that he would look into the issue through branch managers.