Blame it on increase in migrants to the City, lack of integrity on the part of public or even pilfering by conductors. Whatever the cause attributed, the fact is that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is touching a record-high figure this financial year with regard to the number of ticketless travellers and the penalty amount collected.

The fine collected for eight months of the present financial year has already touched Rs 52.13 lakh with 64,702 passengers booked for travelling without ticket. The penalty collected for ticketless travel for the whole of last year was only Rs 54.76 lakh.

There has been no change in the number of trips checked for the corresponding period during previous years. “We expect the penalty figure to touch around Rs 65 lakh this financial year,” Divisional Traffic Officer Naveen told Metrolife.

Chief Security and Vigilance Officer Bellatti could not pinpoint a particular reason for it. “The figures are just not going down. Atleast two-and-a-half lakh daily bus passes are being issued each day, apart from the monthly passes. Many reasons could be contributing to the increase in ticketless commuting.” 

Elaborating on them, Bellati said, “The strength of checking staff has gone up the last six months and this could have played a vital role. It has gone up from the earlier strength of 45 to 60 personnel at present.” The rise in floating population to the City, particularly those of labourers and those employed in other odd jobs, is also a contributory factor. Most people in this category do not feel the need to purchase a ticket, he added.

“When it comes to women, those employed in the garment sector are the chief violators. We have conducted many raids recently in buses taken by garment employees and booked many. Some women have an understanding with the conductors and give them some token change when disembarking instead of buying a ticket,” the officer said.

Conductors collecting money and not issuing tickets or issuing invalid (old ones) tickets also contribute to ticketless travel, he conceded. 

Attempts made by passengers to save money spent on tickets is also a causatory factor.

On the job

This reporter accompanied a ticketing squad at the Kempe Gowda bus station which checked out four buses. A 12-year-old boy Hari was found travelling without a ticket in route no. 129 in which the driver doubled up as a conductor. 

“I gave money to the driver and asked for a ticket when entering and he asked me to first find a seat and promised to hand over the ticket later,” Hari said.

The driver claimed that he had forgotten about the boy. The squad booked the driver for the offence as the non-issue of ticket was his fault and he was made to pay Rs 40, ten times the cost of the actual ticket.
The buses had thin attendance and all the others had either tickets or passes.

“The problem of non-purchase of ticket is acute between 8 and 10 a.m. and 5 and 8 p.m, said B S Krishna Gowda, Traffic Superintendent.

“A few of them actually forget to buy a ticket, in some cases it is a communication gap between the conductor and passenger, some are too poor to buy a ticket while a majority attempt to save out on the ticket money,” he said.