The commuter is at the mercy of the conductor, although he is ready to pay for the ride and is entitled to travel
The Metropolitan Transport Corporation finds the problem “sticky”. The three million plus tickets issued to bus passengers per day, which are nothing more than tiny bits of flimsy paper, are a problem not just for passengers, but for conductors too. That is what the MTC told the Ministry of Urban Development in New Delhi when it applied for JNNURM funds to buy modern buses. “The conductor has to ensure that he issues the correct number of tickets due to sticky nature of tickets,” the Corporation said. The solution it proposed was to move to Electronic Ticket Machines.
Purchasing a ticket on-board an MTC bus can be a stressful experience. Many conductors are unhappy with their job and make that very evident. The result is hostile behaviour towards commuters, especially when dispensing a ticket. The commuter is at the mercy of the conductor, although he is ready to pay for the ride and is entitled to travel.
If it is possible to eliminate a ticket purchase every time one travels, both passenger and crew can be spared of the transaction. The solution lies in newer technologies.
India has impressive penetration of digital mobile phone technology and is moving towards phone-based money transfers and e-commerce. Railway tickets can already be purchased using a mobile phone. Leap-frogging to newer ticketing options for city travel is thus feasible, but governments and industry must be ready to adopt standardised, interoperable payment platforms.
Imagine being able to just tap a smart card on a sensor at the door of a bus and taking a seat. The same card can be used on a Metro such as the one being built in the city, on a retrofitted bus and suburban rail network, and on other future options. Such systems are being tried out in Europe to make them valid across countries, not just cities. In the UK, it is being improved for the Olympics.
Interestingly, smart cards can even become a part of more advanced mobile phones featuring NFC, or Near Field Communication technology. Plain-old tickets on the bus would, no doubt, continue to be available. But what is important is to reduce the number of people who need to buy one.
What makes the state-of-the-art even more interesting is the arrival of back-office computing. Travel cards, bank cards, smart card office IDs and suitable phones calculate your travel cost not at the point of a programmed sensor fitted at the entrance to a bus or rail station, but on a computer elsewhere. The sensor merely recognises the card as a valid ID and relays information for later billing or debit. Such “cloud” technology eliminates the need to reprogramme thousands of sensors at high cost every time the fares or system rules change.
All this must be dizzyingly complicated for MTC, which does not effectively market even its plain old paper passes - daily, weekly and monthly travel tickets. Silence is its motto. It stubbornly refuses to advertise the passes on buses (Bangalore's BMTC does), has highly restrictive timings, locations and days for sale (the Railways do better with rolling dates for monthly, quarterly passes) and does not support formal commuter interaction. By contrast, Transport for London, the operator in the British capital has over 4,000 agents to sell its Oyster Card passes. MTC has 29 part-time counters for its travel ticket sale. Obviously, MTC customer service is badly in need of a shake-up.
The bigger story is whether CUMTA, the low-key Chennai transport regulator that is yet to find its feet, has the vision to move to the next level of ticketing reform, preparing the city for smart card tickets in the era of multi-billion dollar Metro, Mono and, on-the-horizon Bus Rapid Transit system investments.
G. Ananthakrishnan is the Internet Editor of The Hindu
Keywords: Urban Jungle column, MTC, buses modernisation, electronic ticket machines, commuter-conductor relations
The smart card system is being used successfully in Singapore for many years now. It is called "EZe Link" card which can be used to pay for Bus, MRT trains and Taxies. There is no need to print tickets as such. In the bus, the driver (bus captain in Singapore) just watches whether the passenger taps his card while entering and there is inspection and checking systems.There is no one as "conductor" for city buses. These cards can be topped up using "Top Up Machines" located in all MRT and bus stations. There are also automatic ticketing systems for passengers who want to use coins instead of smart cards. In trains, the gate to platforms opens if passsenger taps his card. All of these are monitored by CCTV security cameras. The bus or train should have doors for safety that should close automatically before the vehicle starts moving.I beleive that it is doable and just a matter of time before it happens in Chennai and other cities.
Well this might be a good idea but before implementing such a technology
we should conduct a feasibility study and analysis in the particular
city location. We should know the drawbacks and benefits of the plan
before it get implemented.
All the idea of smart cards and NFC are good but what about the constant breach of privacy? At the stroke of the button the entire travelogue of a person will be available to anyone who is using the system. Topup that with the zero availability of privacy protection laws available in India. If the fixed monthly/daily passes system is implementated properly with nominal fares it will be much better.
The Chennai bus department needs a overhaul. I usually travel on OMR roads at night. Many a times I have seen that buses do not halt at bus stops after 9 pm. they just ignore commuters standing on stops. They only stop if some passenger inside the bus wants to get down at that particular stop. And some people here are saying that privatization would cause rash driving. I don't think these govt drivers drive any more sedately,than any private driver would have driven. Atleast discipline should be brought among drivers.
1. as some have highlighted that., the bus seats, missing bolts, hanging lights are really disgusting one., it can be fixed without any issues and it shows that the lack of interest from the maintanance department. 2. the drivers and conductors were really tired and irritative because of travelling for long time and in the city traffic. When someone misbehave with them it will be even worse. If the authority give them a proper place to rest in the resting time it will help in reducing the stress.. I have been in Dubai for more than 3 years, now they have a electronic card and at each entrance/exit they have two machines fixed. While entering and exiting the passenger has to swipe their card to the machine and the amount will be deducted automatically depending on your trip. There are several recharging machines of that in metro station, bus station, malls and important gathering places.. so no hurry, no worry.
In Paris, they call it Navigo, a smart card which allows one to opt for any of the public transportation available: tram or metro or bus or suburb trains and even boats in the Seine. The monthly, weekly, daily, hourly and even yearly passes (mostly for students) are made available by the RATP( Autonomous Operators of Parisian Transports). And you can choose your zone of traveling, Paris region being divided into 5 concentric circles of increasing radii with unit price of the ticket or other subscription depending on the zones chosen. All this has made Paris as as one of the most public transport friendly cities of the world. In spite of 6 million tourists annually visiting the city with around 8 million inhabitants of the Paris Metropolitan Region, traveling in Paris is at most of the times a pleasant experience though union strikes sometimes do alter the experience. Chennai could learn a lot from the capital of its one time colonizer (though partially).
As a frequent commuter in the Chennai MTC buses, I have lost track of the number of times I have been scolded, yelled and shouted at by the conductors for not having enough change. I have not been admonished that many times even thoughout my entire schooling by my teachers! I dread the day my sense of humor turns dry and I lose my temper (and the bus ticket!). However, we need to show a little sympathy to the bus conductors and drivers. They have a high-tension job and need to be provided with more amenties such as better rest houses, etc. The current bus depot facilities are just pathetic.
First things first. Let the buses be cleaned daily at regular intervals. Let there be proper maintenance of the buses. The dust (including the thrown away ticket stubs around the driver's seat) that is flying around the passengers who sit near the front seats is something that can be easily avoided by proper cleaning. How many seats are torn or broken! Aren't these disgusting?
SIM cards, topup cards are all initiatives of private companies. Therein lies the difference :) Technology has touched the lives of people in every strata with cell phone technology successfully marketed.... How many MTC commuters are without one? Its time the Powers that be realized that conductors can't really do much during rush hours and move on to technology. Here in Toronto too we have the Presto Smart card that works in different transits. We need an article on the cons, rather than the pros please.
Smart card might sound like a good idea but it has its problems as well. In Melbourne smart cards were introduced recently and that is causing all sorts of problems, like incorrect fare calculation, lengthy queues due to slow system speed as the number of users go up. We need to be able to purchase tickets in any shops just like how people purchase SIM cards these days. More ticket vending machines in buses, major bus terminals. Simpler fare structure and definitely new mechanisms to address complaints about the transport staff members.
If we install all the modern tech in our buses is the public willing to pay the extras. that's a big No. For our economy and our people mindset the current ticketing is the best possible solution. The article can be presented but never be implemented.
Few questions that the article raises: 1) How do we introduce smart card system in our over crowded buses. Many countries are able to implement this system because the buses are not as over crowded and there aren't any foot board passengers. 2) Even if we work around that in some way (more buses etc.), what would be the value of the conductor in these new buses? Can they be used to confirm that people are tapping their cards properly? How can they ensure that? Are we sowing the seeds for more hartals and strikes? As Jayarajan S. has mentioned above, the problem is more deep-rooted than just the journey.
Yes making a trip in local bus in Chennai is like doing some great job. That too at peak hour it's really hard to get a ticket. In a crowded usually a quarrel between the conductor and public is always most likely event. So something is need to be done to do easy this kind of tension in a local bus, which will be help full not just to public but to conductors to. We all except a change like this for a long time.
The electronic ticket vending machines are used by Kerala SRTC as well in the ordinary buses and the volvos as well. I don't see them getting frustrated at the commuters or even make a fuss when there is lack of change. Yes the usual skirmishes are there because of no change but then it is sorted out before the end of the journey.. Yes smart cards are a great option. It will make life easier for both. But the bigger question, does our government have the commitment for it?
I couldn't imagine that travelling in city bus with smart card. It'll only be possible if we have more than adequate number of buses required in every route. Look at the status now which is absolutely contradict to the proposal.
In Japan there are two kinds of smart cards - Suica and Pasmo and valid across all modes of transport (buses, trains, mono rails etc). One needs to top up from time to time and it makes movement seamless.Just touch the card at the gate and pass thru. By the way, there are no cnductors on the bus. If necessary, the drives collects the fare (needs to be dropped in a machine - driver never touches cash). The machine calculates the amount and that's it. No tickets are issues. Also, the fares are flat which make it all the more convenient. The machine next to the driver obviously returns the change too !
Most of the bus conductors in Chennai are misbehaving. There is no way to fix them as there is no name badge displayed anywhere on their uniform. As per the norms, to ensure proper services to the public, the name of the public servant should be displayed on his uniform. The 'CITIZEN's CHERTER' is not displayed anywhere in the bus terminus to get information of the authority to whom complaints about the misbehaving conductors can be made. These deficiencies in the administration are not cared to look in to by any responsible officers in this state of Tamilnadu. It is a state of anarchy / lethargy. Democracy without responsibility and accountability is a hell.
Although I am not against the concept of 'PRIVATIZATION', I think that it is a grossly overused buzzword whose benefits are always overrated. Privatization is definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution to current problems. For instance, look at Delhi water supply, Mumbai electricity distribution and the British railway. Privatizing these assets merely increased the burden on public without a proportionate increase in quality of service. Private owners did earn windfall profits in such cases. Unless we are reasonably sure about the benefits of privatization (through scientific analysis and consideration of numerous case studies), we should retain these companies under public control.
A succinct article providing an insight into advancements in ticketing technologies. I strongly believe that automated processes in transportation increases its effectiveness. However,as it happens in all other sectors (manufacturing, agriculture etc.), automation can make conductors (and other auxiliary staff)redundant at some point and these people would no longer be needed by the companies. Therefore, we need to think about the long term ramifications of such ideas and make sure that the displaced staff would be put to work. This would lead to a win-win situation wherein there would be an increase in operational efficiency without compromising the interests of a labor-abundant nation line ours.
Much needed improvement. NFC is an option but there are associated issues - what if the phone is not charged adequately, ticket fare debited more than once, buying tickets for a group where there are kids, students, adults and senior citizens. Smart cards as in Shanghai is also a viable option. As mentioned in the article one has to wait to see if CUMTA has the vision to plan for such improvements.
Multi-modal transport, essential in cities, can be effective only through E-ticketing which can avoid waiting time for passengers. If use of technology is done, effective & innovative pricing of different services can be done. For example, discounts based on frequent travels, travel miles etc (why only airlines should offer?). By the way, private buses have managed to plug the pilferage but we know how they are run in other parts of the state. Personal experience - once the conductor issued an Rs.2 denominated ticket for Rs.5 with just a rubber stamp affixed on it for Rs.5. And during non peak hours they stop at bus stops for 10 up to minutes waiting for more passengers to board, troubling the rest. The passengers have no option but to wait, having bought the ticket. We know how these complaints can fall on the deaf ears of bureaucrats and politicians. Change (Chillara) problem can be solved, through technology, effectively by pricing the services appropriate to the precise paisa.
Mumbai Local trains: has smard card readers at all stations from which passengers take a print out. (Same can be done at bus stops. Conductor just verifies the ticket). If the state governments can atleast implement this across cities in India, it will be an intermediate step towards a more advanced technology that can be deployed en mass.
I stay in china(Shanghai).They have the smartcard system followed here as well like the western countries.It is very convenient.We can use it in Metro trains,city buses and even taxis. Wish we get to see such systems in India very soon,at least in big cities.
All the conductors use their own saliva to separate the tickets while issuing them. People like me are disgusted with such behaviour in public. It is a very unhealthy practice.It is high time that the government recognises it and abolish such practices.
I agree with Mr. Arun regarding privatisation excepting rash driving by them to compete with each other. However, we can still improve the present system without going into heavy investment on machines, modernisation etc. We can standardise the fare structure and reintroduce STANDING CONDUCTORS with a friendly face in selected bus stands at least during peak hours. Travelling Bus conductors should start issuing tickets at least five minutes before start of the bus to avoid detention of bus for stage closing and thereby avoiding tension, irritation etc.
Very Good article. This method of using one single card across different transportation systems like Bus, MRT, LRT Mono Rail is already being followed very well in Singapore. If this can be implemented in Chennai or India in all the big cities it will be fantastic. The Smart cards can be sold like a rechargable Telephone card. How can we get this message across to the Government?
Privatize MTC and allow FDI in it. We can get all the above
improvements in no time. :)
well the above article is very true, buying a ticket in bmtc buses is turning out very stressful mainly because of the change(chillar) problem.if you dont have the right change they (conductors)tell you to get down from the bus. this has happened many times...
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