On Monday, I along with my four friends boarded BEST bus no 92 (Anushakti Nagar). I took the bus from King’s Circle bus stop at 5:10pm and despite repeated attempts, the conductor refused to take money for our tickets and kept standing at the back of the bus.
At the next stop, a man entered the bus who claimed to be ticket checker, but he wasn’t wearing an uniform neither did he have an official batch. We told him that we boarded the bus at the previous stop and were yet to buy the tickets. He refused to listen and started abusing us. Even the conductor lied by saying that he had asked us to buy the tickets but we refused to do so. The conductor also said that we boarded the bus from Dadar when we actually had boarded it at King’s Circle. They demanded us to pay Rs132 each as fine and when we refused to do so, they started abusing us.
They even tried to threaten us with dire consequences. We eventually got down at Sion. The incident shook me and I even complained to BEST on their website but haven’t received any reply yet. After the incident, now I’ll think twice before travelling in a BEST bus and have already gotten myself a train pass to avoid such mishaps in the future. As for my friends, they now prefer to travel by taxi or their own vehicle.
Anandita Bakshi
We provide the best service
One such incident shouldn’t hamper the image of BEST. Our service is the best in the country and lakhs of commuters use our services daily. If anyone faces a problem in a BEST bus they can contact us on our website and tell us their grievances. We’ll take strict action against people, if found guilty. As for this particular incident, the ticket checkers would be the senior conductors who sometimes perform their duty even without uniform or a batch.
NA Walawalkar, BEST PRO
Looks like a money-making scheme
It is disheartening to see how commuters, especially women, are harassed by BEST employees. After the incident, I felt like changing the name of the bus service from BEST to WORST. The ticket checker was looking like a goon, and the conductor was party to it. It looked like both were together on it and must be doing this regularly to have another source of income.
Sandeep Aggarwal
Won’t travel by BEST bus anymore
It's not that the incident will have a life-changing impact on us but certainly it has hurt all of us in one way or the other. I usually travel by my own vehicle and consider BEST bus as an alternative. However, after this event I don't think I would ever want to travel by a BEST buses anymore. At the end, this incident has made me forget that India is a land of diverse cultures.
Rohitash Chandel
Comments: 2