The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had worked hard to come up with a fool-proof system to stop misuse of Namma Metro.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had worked hard to come up with a fool-proof system to stop misuse of Namma Metro. But several smart commuters have hoodwinked the system. In the past six months, there has been a surge in complaints about commuters misusing the Metro, including passengers using the same tokens for journey in different directions or travelling in a direction to which they are not entitled.
As the ridership is low, the BMRCL too has been going soft on these offenders, who, more often than not, claim ignorance, saying they are not aware of how the token system works.
BLY Chavan, spokesperson for BMRCL, said: “We have not collected any fines from commuters. We do not get many offences and when we do, we only warn them.”
A BMRCL employee who works in the station said that there have been at least 50 cases of various offences in the past six-and-a-half months. The most common being the entry/exit mismatch. The commuter pays less and travels more. Commuters have also tried to carry the tokens without depositing it at the exit gate.
“Recently, we caught a man who had five tokens with him. We do not know what he was planning to do with it. But, we took the tokens back from him. We did not impose a fine on him. We did warn him though,” said a station controller.
According to the information boards put up at the stations, `200 fine will be imposed on a commuter for not dropping the tokens at the token slots at the exit points.
“Another common offence is when people try to tailgate,” said a station controller. When one person buys a token and enters the gates, another commuter behind him also enters. If the employees at the gates are not alert, the commuter may end up taking a free ride on the Metro.
However, this commuter will most likely get caught at the exit point.
According to a BMRCL employee, taking photographs and videos are also offences.
“There are security reasons for these restrictions. But since Metro is a new concept in the city, people get excited and click photos and shoot videos. So we just warn them and let them be,” he said.
“We do get offenders who try to take us for a ride, but since the service is new, we give them the benefit of doubt. At present, we have not collected any fine from people,” he said.
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