Conductors oppose e-ticketing system during re-launch of Smart City bus service

Aurangabad, Nov 5:

The municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey inaugurated the re-launch of Smart City bus service in the city from the Cidco Bus Stand area, today morning. The bus conductors, however, stopped the civic chief and registered their objection to the e-ticketing facility introduced for the passengers.

The service resumed after a gap of seven months with the operations of 30 buses from today. The buses started plying on the road from 5 am. The management planned operating buses which would record 352 trips covering a distance of 7,000 kilometres.

The new inning of public transport service started with passenger-friendly facilities like a mobile app, smart card, e-ticket machine, vehicle tracking system, passengers information system, etc. The android-based e-ticketing system encourages passengers to buy the ticket by paying through all banks debit/credit cards or e-wallets. The facility of issuing tickets manually also exist.

Meanwhile, the delegation of conductors comprising S S Paithankar, S B Pawar and others urged the civic chief to adopt the ticketing system of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). They underlined the implementation of the ticket and passengers status information system of the MSRTC. The delegation also told the civic chief to take penal action against passengers (not the conductor), if he does not possess a ticket from them while travelling instead, as their salaries are meagre. The civic chief informed them that the procedure to oppose it is wrong, and he said that the management had introduced the Smart City bus service with the advanced technology.

The general manager Prashant Bhusari said, " The e-ticketing system will end the practice of waiting to get change (remaining money from the cost of a ticket) from the conductor. Earlier, if there emerges an issue of change after buying a ticket manually, the conductor would forget to give the remaining money back to the customer unless he/she demands. The new system is administration as well as passengers-friendly."