I was glad that the AC bus had turned up after a long wait at the bus-stop. After getting the ticket, I was about to sit back and relax with my favorite Golden Era songs when I heard someone arguing very loudly with the conductor. A passenger had fished out a 500 Rs note for fare and the conductor was refusing to accept it. His argument was that he didn’t have any facility to check if it was a fake one so if he handed it over at the depot and they find that it is a fake, he will have to reimburse it from his own pocket. The passenger was arguing that since the conductor had accepted a 500 Rs note in the morning, he should not have any objection to accepting it in the evening.
The passenger said that he will travel without ticket since the conductor was not accepting the note. The conductor asked him to get down at the next stop. After arguing back and forth, the passenger got down at the next stop muttering that he would have been better off going by a rickshaw.
Just when I thought everything was quite, other passengers started arguing with the conductor. One lady who was occupying a seat in front of me started shouting in a loud voice that we should complain at the depot.
Frankly, I think the conductor was right. If he is made to pay from his own pocket for a fake note, he has a right not to accept 500 Rs notes. Other passengers were suggesting that he take down the name and address of passengers who hand over 500 Rs note. But who can verify that the address is right? Won’t the conductor then have to note down the number on the currency as well? And who will chase the person after it is discovered at the depot that the note given by the person is indeed fake. We can’t blame the depots for their practice because if they don’t enforce such rules, unscrupulous people can use this route to circulate fake currency. I guess the onus is on the passengers. If you are traveling by a bus, you have to have at least a Rs 100 note. I always do.
If you are thinking that I should have voiced my opinion there, you are right. I should have but I was worn down by a hard day’s work and waiting at the bus stop. I didn’t want to get drawn into arguments and I knew that the people wouldn’t have been receptive to any reasoning.
So yes, it was wrong on my part to let the conductor fight it out on his own.
That said, I wonder whether in our zeal to expect better service we are forgetting to be reasonable?
The passenger said that he will travel without ticket since the conductor was not accepting the note. The conductor asked him to get down at the next stop. After arguing back and forth, the passenger got down at the next stop muttering that he would have been better off going by a rickshaw.
Just when I thought everything was quite, other passengers started arguing with the conductor. One lady who was occupying a seat in front of me started shouting in a loud voice that we should complain at the depot.
Frankly, I think the conductor was right. If he is made to pay from his own pocket for a fake note, he has a right not to accept 500 Rs notes. Other passengers were suggesting that he take down the name and address of passengers who hand over 500 Rs note. But who can verify that the address is right? Won’t the conductor then have to note down the number on the currency as well? And who will chase the person after it is discovered at the depot that the note given by the person is indeed fake. We can’t blame the depots for their practice because if they don’t enforce such rules, unscrupulous people can use this route to circulate fake currency. I guess the onus is on the passengers. If you are traveling by a bus, you have to have at least a Rs 100 note. I always do.
If you are thinking that I should have voiced my opinion there, you are right. I should have but I was worn down by a hard day’s work and waiting at the bus stop. I didn’t want to get drawn into arguments and I knew that the people wouldn’t have been receptive to any reasoning.
So yes, it was wrong on my part to let the conductor fight it out on his own.
That said, I wonder whether in our zeal to expect better service we are forgetting to be reasonable?
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