Fare dispute, jammed ticket machine and a route diversion
At Stage 5 on an ordinary service, five people board: three adults, a child about 140 cm tall, and an infant in arms. The adult fare from Stage 3 to Stage 9 is ₹18; children under 120 cm pay half fare. The adult paying hands you ₹100 and says, 'Adjust the child, she is small.' Your ticket machine jams after printing two tickets. You have a manual ticket pad, a cash box with ₹65 change, and the driver is already 7 minutes behind schedule. A procession diversion adds 2 km but does not change the fare stage. The group insists the diversion should reduce the fare, and the driver says, 'Just issue one ticket for all of them and sort it out later.' One adult has a monthly pass for a different route and asks to use it.
1. Calculate the correct fare and state how many tickets you must issue. Show your reasoning.
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Adult fare = ₹18 each. Three adults = ₹54. The child is about 140 cm, so the 'under 120 cm' half-fare condition is not met; the child pays full ₹18. The infant in arms does not occupy a seat and, under the stated rule, no fare is specified; do not invent a half fare. Total = ₹72 for four paying passengers.
Issue four separate tickets, or the operator's approved group ticket only if the rule allows it; the driver's instruction is not a fare rule. The monthly pass is route-specific and not valid on this route unless the scheme says otherwise; ask to see it and charge cash if invalid. The diversion does not reduce the fare because the fare stages are unchanged. Change from ₹100 = ₹28, which you can give from ₹65.
2. The ticket machine is jammed and you have limited change. What do you do?
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Stop issuing machine tickets; do not keep pressing or thumping the machine. Record the jam time and the last ticket number. Use the manual ticket pad in serial order, pressing firmly and issuing one ticket per paying passenger. Write the fare stage, amount, date and serial number clearly; if the pad is a duplicate, retain the office copy.
Give ₹28 change and count it back aloud. Do not put the ₹100 note loose in the cash box without recording; note the transaction in the cash book or on the manual ticket record. If change runs out, ask the driver or control for a float, or tell the next passenger before boarding that exact change is needed. At the end of the trip, attach the manual ticket office copies to the trip sheet and report the machine fault.
3. How do you handle the group's claim about the diversion and the driver's instruction to issue one ticket for all?
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Explain the rule, not an opinion: 'The fare is by stage, and the diversion does not create a new stage, so the fare is unchanged.' Show the fare table if you carry one. Acknowledge the delay without arguing about the procession.
Refuse the driver's instruction politely: one ticket for five people would under-record passengers, create a revenue leak and leave four people without valid tickets. If the operator has a group ticket, use it only after entering every passenger and collecting the correct total. Record the driver's instruction and the group's objection in the trip sheet if it becomes a dispute. Offer a complaint number or depot address if they remain dissatisfied; do not threaten or eject them.