This fiscal, revenue from ticketless TMT commuters drops

  • | Saturday | 17th February, 2018

“The existing ticket checking staff is overworked and is inadequate to cater to the huge area. At times, there are only 12 ticket checkers, claim officials.Meanwhile, activists and commuters have alleged that the TMT is deliberately encouraging ticketless travellers by not deploying adequate ticket checking staff. Why can’t they deploy more staff?” questioned an activist from Thane.When contacted, a TMT official said that the less revenue could possibly be because commuters may have purchased tickets. This roughly translates to one ticket checker for every 5,666 passengers across six areas in the city. Many who travel short distance take advantage of this and travel ticketless.

THANE: The revenue generated through penalties from commuters travelling without a ticket in TMT buses has dropped this fiscal as compared to the previous year, even though the number of buses plying on the roads have increased by nearly 100.While activists have attributed this to the absence of ticket checkers along some of the routes, transport officials have said that the drop is because more commuters are travelling with a ticket and not ticketless.As per the budget books, the ticket checking staff deployed by the TMT in three shifts have collected barely Rs 3.71 lakh as against Rs 10 lakh expected as penalties from ticketless commuters this fiscal. This is nearly a lakhless than last year when the number of buses was less as compared to now.The statistics also reveals that the recovery from ticketless travelers in the last seven years hasn’t seen any major increase.The highest recovery done by the team in the last seven years was in the previous fiscal when the officials had collected Rs 4.76 lakh. The least amount was collected in 2014-15 where barely Rs 2.94 lakh was recovered.This is surprising as the number of passengers has risen and the penalty amount has doubled.“The penalty amount was increased to Rs 100 a few years ago, in addition to the distance travelled for both non AC and AC buses on TMT routes,” said an official.The TMT has a team of around 30 ticket checking staff to track down offenders. This roughly translates to one ticket checker for every 5,666 passengers across six areas in the city. At times, there are only 12 ticket checkers, claim officials.Meanwhile, activists and commuters have alleged that the TMT is deliberately encouraging ticketless travellers by not deploying adequate ticket checking staff. While recruiting more staff may not be possible, activists suggest hiring private personnel.“During peak hours, when most buses are running packed, the conductor is hardly in a position to reach out to all passengers. Many who travel short distance take advantage of this and travel ticketless. While there are few exceptions who are forced to alight without purchasing a ticket as their destination arrives by the time the conductor can reach them. Why can’t they deploy more staff?” questioned an activist from Thane.When contacted, a TMT official said that the less revenue could possibly be because commuters may have purchased tickets. But he also agreed there was no mechanism to justify the claims. “The existing ticket checking staff is overworked and is inadequate to cater to the huge area. We will look into the issue and take corrective steps,” he said.

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