Students using fake bus passes: BMTC

Bengaluru: While the BMTC is yet to complete the distribution of smart cards bus passes to all those students who had applied, the reports of its misuse have already surfaced. These cards were introduced to do away with paper passes.

Now the corporation has received complaints from checking inspectors on various routes of students using colour xerox copy of the bus passes.

A BMTC official told Deccan Chronicle, "We started checking the passes when students board the bus. In many routes, we came across fake bus smart cards passes. They looked exactly the same as the original, but the material used looked different. Then we realised that they were using colour xerox copies.”

A ‘smart card’ bus pass has the photograph and name of the student, along with a unique identification number encrypted into an electronic chip. The chip contains data on the bus route taken by the student to and from school, and validity of the card.

"We came to know that many students have their smart card passes but they keep them at home and use the colour Xerox copy. We will not allow them to travel in buses using colour Xerox copies. Every time a student travels the BMTC fetches their details from the government database SATS (Student Tracking System), which gets updated during every trip. So we have instructed all bus controllers to check thoroughly with their college issued ID cards," an official added.

While the 2019–20 academic year has started, many students have still not received bus passes. The BMTC had announced that they could travel till June 30 by producing the receipt of the fee paid for the current academic year.

The students are demanding that the BMTC should extend the deadline until they receive smart card passes. It was then extended till July mid-week.