According to a circular issued by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the undertaking has asked the bus conductors to pay up if parts of ticket machines are to be broken or non-functional. However, it has come to light that this decision by the transport body has not gone down well with its employees as now trade unions are threatening to take to the streets.
It also mentions that staffers receiving machines from conductors or ground booking staff after duty hours have observed that plastic flaps over the display of the machine have been found to be cut open, thus exposing and affecting the display area while storing them.
This not only affects the machine’s productivity and longevity but also makes it non-functional in the long run. If machines are then found to be non-functional, the money for replacing spare parts will be recovered from employees, as per prevailing policy and rates, the further read.
“Your office provides you with laptops, but do they ask you to reimburse them if some part of it is not functional? The BEST is exactly doing this and has issued a rate card per broken part of ticket machines,” Shashank Sharad Rao, convener, BEST Workers Joint Action Committee, was quoted as saying FPJ.
The undertaking has listed the price of 15 items in the circular. The LCD and front cover is the most expensive at INR 4,737. The battery, back body, printer bracket and speakers are worth INR 2,214, INR 1,582, INR 960 and INR 490 respectively. The buzzer, which is among the cheapest items on the list, costs INR 456.
On the other hand, BEST officials said that there was nothing wrong with the circular as it was in accordance with existing policies.
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