Commuters Travelling Without Tickets On Mumbai Locals Has Increased, Here Is The Reason

The Western Railway caught 5,274 people during a three-day fortress checking, who were without valid tickets or without tickets, resulting in a revenue of Rs 13.93 lakhs in fines.

On September 30th, a group of ticket collectors encountered 1,647 passengers without tickets at Dadar station. The number increased to 2,693 when a similar operation was conducted at Andheri station on October 3rd. Two days later, on October 5th, ticket collectors checked passengers on AC trains travelling between Bandra and Mumbai Central from 7 AM to 2 PM. A total of 934 people were found to be travelling without tickets and were fined Rs 2.57 lakh. The operation involved 186 ticket collectors stationed at each train door. On Friday, checks were conducted at Virar station from 2 PM to 10 PM.

Ticketless travel is becoming more prevalent due to a shortage of ticket collectors and the adoption of ticketless travel during the pandemic. Additionally, the railway is looking into ways to digitize fine payments and enhance surveillance of individuals' movements at stations.

A transport expert and member of Mumbai Mobility Forum, A V Shenoy, expressed concerns about individuals who refuse to purchase train tickets despite their low cost.

"This habit seems to be continuing. They are okay to pay fines rather than standing in long queues. Even though there are options to buy tickets on the UTS mobile app, the growth seems slow, yet it is steady," the official added.

Kailash Verma, president of Mumbai Rail Users Cell, expressed that the railway system should make sure that individuals have the option to make payments digitally. He suggested that at least a QR code-based device should be given to ticket collectors (TCs).

Nandkumar Deshmukh, the president of the Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers Association, expressed that the large number of people at ticket windows dissuades many from purchasing tickets. He also highlighted the problem of multiple entry and exit points at railway stations, as well as the challenge of controlling and monitoring people's movements.

Over the past 10-12 days, approximately 200 ticket collectors have been inspecting railway stations every other day. On the other days, a separate group of 25 ticket collectors is divided among eight different stations to find passengers who do not have tickets. These ticket collectors are in addition to the regular staff who check tickets at the stations.

Reportedly, the number of ticket-checking employees in the Mumbai division of the WR has decreased from 1,100 to 700-750. Earlier, there were 250-300 ticket-checkers specifically assigned to Mumbai's suburban stations and local trains, but now there are only 150. These ticket checkers now manage both long-distance and local trains.