65 post-dated tickets sold, ETMs blamed

Chennai: As many as 65 bus tickets dated Tuesday were issued by a conductor of 102 cut bus from Tidel Park to Siruseri IT Park on Monday.  He claimed that he failed to notice the change in date when he re-started the Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) at Siruseri after having his breakfast.

“The service engineer told us that the date and time change if re-started when the battery is weak. At around 11.30 am, the conductor himself came to us when the passengers complained about change of date. The issue happened as the conductor switched it off to save battery and there was no deficit in the collection amount,” said an official of MTC. He further added that though the ticket carried 01-08-17 as the date, it can’t be used today as ticket numbers differ every day.

However, sources from MTC said numerous such incidents occurred due to faulty ETMs and recently, a machine showed the year as 2022. But, most of the times, the fault is not exposed as the officials correct the fault before the passengers find it.

A data entry operator seeking anonymity said, “Numerous depots including Avadi, Anna Nagar and Tambaram are facing the problem. At times, empty ticket comes out or the paper gets struck and frequently date changes.  The issue is with the server and the private company supplying ETMs is responsible for this. Also, officials must check the machines before giving it out to conductors.”