Private conductors pocketing ticket money

Hyderabad: Even as the TSRTC management claims of operating 6,000 to 7,000 buses on an average every day, there is no end to the woes of the commuters who complain that buses were not available and the claims of the RTC appears to be more on paper.

The Corporation is also not getting enough revenue in turn thanks to the temporary conductors and the hire bus conductors who are pocketing the ticket money without depositing it at the depots.

Sources said that there is no accountability as the TIMs (ticket issuing machines) are used only in half of the buses operated by the corporation.

On Monday, management claims to have operated a total of 6,276 buses but TIMs were used in 3,404 buses, which means there is no account for the money collected in the remaining buses. Similarly, on October 20, 6,437 buses were operated and TIMs were used in 2,620 buses only.

There were reports of excess charging by the conductors of the hire buses during the starting days of the strike. After the police officials started acting against the erring conductors, the problem of excessive charging decreased to some extent.

However, this has not increased the revenue of the Corporation as most of the hire bus operators have reported losses by running the buses, sources said. A bus conductor in Jagtial Depot, Gangadhar, was found not issuing tickets to the passengers even after collecting money.

When asked by the passengers, the conductors said that the TIM was not functioning. In another incident, a conductor in a bus going towards Karimnagar did not issue tickets on the pretext that there was no paper in the machine.

A few passengers said that the conductor gave a slip with price written on it but did not issue the regular ticket. A temporary conductor (bus no AP 20Z 0092) belonging to Sattupally depot allegedly gave away the money bag to her relative in the middle of the journey.

According to the union leaders, the hire bus owners have been showing losses and not giving money to the depot managers.

The hire bus owners are giving Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 to the depot manager and stating that they were not getting enough revenue, said union leaders.

"If the government says it operated 7,000 buses, the corporation should get at least Rs 10 crore, but it is not happening," said a union leader.