The BEST refund I ever got
Route Number : 348 Ltd.
Regn No. : MH-01 LA 5440
BEST Serial No, : 3030
Conductor Badge No, : 32449
Regn No. : MH-01 LA 5440
BEST Serial No, : 3030
Conductor Badge No, : 32449
Conductor Reg. No. : 92703
Conductor Name (initials) : B.M.P.
Date : 6 June and 7 June 2006. 1720 hrs. on both days.
Boarding Point : Stage No. 8.
Destination : Rani Laxmi Bai Chowk a.k.a. Sion
We usually take the 348 Ltd. from here (Stage No. 8) to Sion. The fare for this journey is Rs. 6.00. Now the thing is that BEST’s conductors usually charge you Rs. 8.00 for this journey. The reason being that the stop has been relocated a few times by about 100 to 200 meters. This has caused some confusion amongst the conductors, though there is no reason to be confused since each stop has a specific stage number and all fares are calculated on the basis of these stage numbers. The stage numbers are supposed to be allocated in accordance with the RTO rules and regulations. So nothing can go wrong. But what happens when they over-charge ? The bus conductors apparently aren’t aware of the stage number that is painted on the bus-stop board. All they swear by is the fare chart that is pasted on the inner flap of their ticket boxes. It’s another story that the fare table for the same route will be different on most conductors ticket boxes. Perhaps they make them when drunk or they leave the task to their four year old kids back home. Anyway, to over come this fact we photographed the bus stop board and took the printout of the same.
The first day we had an argument with the conductor who had overcharged us. As expected he wasn’t going to deviate from what his little metal ticket box said. So all we can do is threaten the guy by taking down his badge number etc. Unfortunately we didn’t carry the printout that day so we couldn’t actually ‘prove’ our point. But the next day we were back at the same stop and at the same time and as expected the same bus with the same conductor pulls in. We hop in and then some surprises … the conductor obviously recognizes us and comes up towards us. He ‘apologizes’ for overcharging the previous day. He had apparently gone back to his depot and checked up the fares and had realized that the fare was indeed Rs. 6/-. And then another surprise … he refunded us the excess fare that had been charged the day before ! We then pulled out our printout to reconfirm with him that we hadn’t been wrong the earlier day. The conductor obviously was taken aback that we were armed with the picture of the bus stop board. He requested us to hand him over the printout, which we gladly did. He was to show it to his higher ups at his depot.
An unusual and unexpected experience on the BEST.
(This conductor is either a new recruit or perhaps just back after a stint at Arthur Road or Yeravada).
Date : 6 June and 7 June 2006. 1720 hrs. on both days.
Boarding Point : Stage No. 8.
Destination : Rani Laxmi Bai Chowk a.k.a. Sion
We usually take the 348 Ltd. from here (Stage No. 8) to Sion. The fare for this journey is Rs. 6.00. Now the thing is that BEST’s conductors usually charge you Rs. 8.00 for this journey. The reason being that the stop has been relocated a few times by about 100 to 200 meters. This has caused some confusion amongst the conductors, though there is no reason to be confused since each stop has a specific stage number and all fares are calculated on the basis of these stage numbers. The stage numbers are supposed to be allocated in accordance with the RTO rules and regulations. So nothing can go wrong. But what happens when they over-charge ? The bus conductors apparently aren’t aware of the stage number that is painted on the bus-stop board. All they swear by is the fare chart that is pasted on the inner flap of their ticket boxes. It’s another story that the fare table for the same route will be different on most conductors ticket boxes. Perhaps they make them when drunk or they leave the task to their four year old kids back home. Anyway, to over come this fact we photographed the bus stop board and took the printout of the same.
The first day we had an argument with the conductor who had overcharged us. As expected he wasn’t going to deviate from what his little metal ticket box said. So all we can do is threaten the guy by taking down his badge number etc. Unfortunately we didn’t carry the printout that day so we couldn’t actually ‘prove’ our point. But the next day we were back at the same stop and at the same time and as expected the same bus with the same conductor pulls in. We hop in and then some surprises … the conductor obviously recognizes us and comes up towards us. He ‘apologizes’ for overcharging the previous day. He had apparently gone back to his depot and checked up the fares and had realized that the fare was indeed Rs. 6/-. And then another surprise … he refunded us the excess fare that had been charged the day before ! We then pulled out our printout to reconfirm with him that we hadn’t been wrong the earlier day. The conductor obviously was taken aback that we were armed with the picture of the bus stop board. He requested us to hand him over the printout, which we gladly did. He was to show it to his higher ups at his depot.
An unusual and unexpected experience on the BEST.
(This conductor is either a new recruit or perhaps just back after a stint at Arthur Road or Yeravada).
posted by Who's Blog - WGFA - CS | 1:12 PM
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