PANAJI
Aided by technology, the Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd (KTCL) could end up rendering the hitherto quintessential 'conductor' obsolete in its point-to-point bus services going forward as online alternatives like booking tickets through the GoaMiles App and self-ticketing on the buses using QR codes gain usage.
KTCL has already uploaded its bus service schedules besides bus tracking and ticket booking facility on the GoaMiles app which allow users to book tickets in advance via their cell phones. Also, there are QR codes and ticket fares can be paid using these on the bus itself.
As these options gain traction with the thousands of commuters who use the KTCL's public transport service, the buses will be operated without conductors in a phased manner, KTCL managing director, Sanjay Ghate, indicated.
Ghate also said, that those passengers who do not use the app will also have the option of paying for their fare to the bus driver. The drivers will be compensated by paying them commission on the tickets booked by them.
Currently, 520 buses of the KTC -- 437 of these diesel and another 83 electric -- are operating to service hundreds of intra-State routes that encompass 1,467 bus-stops.
With the schedules available online through the GoaMiles app and options to pay ticket fares online, Ghate said, the conductors in KTC buses will gradually become less visible as passengers opt for these do-it-yourself online options.
According to him, commuters in rural areas are often unaware of the bus schedules on their routes and usually go to the bus-stop and wait for a long time for the bus. To eliminate this problem, the Corporation has decided to launch a dedicated app called 'Live Bus Track'. In the meanwhile the Goamiles app has provided their platform free of cost for KTC to upload timings, tracking and ticket booking of its buses on their app,
Meanwhile, with their jobs on the line, the nearly 700 conductors on KTCL's roster do not have to worry as they will be given tasks to check tickets at the various bus stands. They will not be retrenched until they retire, Ghate said.
The KTC services are currently used by approximately 78,000 commuters daily, and almost half of them are monthly pass holders.
