Passengers are facing issues with smart cards due to a technical glitch, causing frustration among those relying on travel concessions.
This has been especially tough for senior citizens, women, and students who rely on travel concessions. Even those who have their smart cards faced issues when the system went down recently. Temporary paper passes were given out, but they were a hassle to manage.
One passenger, Baburao Kamthe, shared his experience. He was traveling from Pune to Akkalkot and had to deal with a lot of questions from conductors because he didn’t have a smart card. He had to show a paper pass and other ID, which was quite annoying.
Pramod Nehul, the MSRTC divisional controller, mentioned that the problem is due to a glitch in the company that issues the smart cards. The IT department is on it, and they hope to fix it soon.
The travel concession schemes offer a 50% discount for seniors over 65 and free travel for those over 75. But without smart cards, passengers are stuck carrying other forms of ID, which doesn’t always satisfy the conductors. Many have complained to depot managers about these travel troubles.
