Thanks to the inability of the Railways and AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), which failed to cater to the demand from passengers during Sankranti festival, private buses made a fast buck throwing all norms to the wind.
Shilpa Patnaik of Vizag, working as a software engineer in Hyderabad, had booked a ticket by a private bus 15 days before the festival, paying Rs. 2,650. She had to board the bus at Gachibowli flyover. The private operator picked up the Vizag-bound passengers in their Chennai – Bibinagar bus, as he had permission to operate till there.
The passengers were made to alight at Bibinagar and catch another bus going to Vizag. The passengers later learnt that since there was no checking by Regional Transport Authorities (RTA) from Bibinagar, the Vizag passengers were made to shift to this bus while the other bus returned to Chennai.
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Meanwhile, those waiting to receive their family members and relatives coming by that bus were worried over the delay in the arrival of the bus in Visakhapatnam as they were not aware of the change of bus mid-way causing the delay.
The RTA officials in Vizag seized some of the private buses for failing to comply with the guidelines and fleecing passengers to pay even double the fares to cash in on the last minute rush.
At a time, when more and more passengers are shifting to ‘paperless mode’ to book their tickets, the security personnel at Visakhapatnam International Airport are insisting on paper tickets or e-mail print outs for allowing them into the airport.
Kanchumurthi Eswar, retired Assistant General Manager of Vizag Steel Plant, and his brother K. Prasad, retired Chief General Manager of AP EPDCL, were flying from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad by IndiGo on December 29. They received an SMS from giving their PNR number. They showed the SMS and their photo identity cards at the entry gate at the airport.
“The security personnel refused entry and insisted on a hard copy or e-mail. We could not access the Internet on our mobile phones and went to the IndiGo counter outside the airport and showed the SMS to airline staff. The staff issued a copy of the ticket but charged Rs. 50 for giving the printout,” says Mr. Eswar.
“It is unfortunate that after shelling out Rs. 8,170 (for two persons), the airline is charging Rs. 50 for a printout. Further, the passengers have not been informed to carry a hard copy or show e-mail at the entrance gate.”
Indian Railways, APSRTC and even private buses are accepting SMS for travel to save the environment. But the security personnel at the airport do not even recognise the SMS for checking into the airport, Mr Eswar added.
(Reporting By B. Madhu Gopal)