3 days ago
Goodbye to change: QR code ticket payment on tech zone route buses
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Kolkata: The perennial problem over loose change may soon be a thing of the past with several bus owners providing UPI payment options to their passengers.
The latest to introduce this system are four buses plying between Barasat and Santragachhi and the Botanic Garden, both of which cater to passengers of Sector V and New Town.
They have introduced a digital payment system on buses to address the issue of change, said owners.
QR codes are provided inside the buses, allowing passengers to easily pay fares via UPI interface or Google Pay.
According to the bus owners, all vehicles on this route will implement the digital payment system in the future if the trials are successful. A total of 38 private buses operate on the Barasat to Howrah Shibpur B Garden route.
Bus owners report that conductors face issues due to the lack of change daily. "To obtain change, they have to pay a commission, which costs Rs 150 for Rs 1,500 worth of change, leading to significant expenses.
As a result, owners are turning to digital payments as an alternative," said a conductor.
One of the owners, Gopal Nandi, operates two buses on the B Garden-Barasat route. A few months ago, he pasted QR code stickers on the buses for digital payments.
Another owner, Biltu Das, followed the same path, reducing the hassle for bus staff. Single buses on several other routes — like DN 16/1 (Dhamakhali to Barasat), Mourigram-Salt Lake minibus and 56 (Ruiya Purbapara-Howrah) — had introduced UPI payment in 2023 but the facility was eventually discontinued.
"We found that most passengers on our route travel to Sector V, New Town and Rajarhat offices. Most of them prefer not to carry cash, let alone coins.
As such, we often get into arguments over payment of fares. Now that we have introduced UPI payment, the conductor just needs to check his phone for confirmation of payment. This also saves time in issuing tickets. However, since not everyone uses cashless mode of payment, the old system will continue," explained a staffer on the Barasat route.
The move was welcomed by multiple passengers who even posted the payment method on Kolkata Bus-o-pedia, an FB forum of bus lovers.
"I was heading towards Karunamoyee from Exide. I had to pay a fare of Rs 18. But I had a Rs 100 note in my pocket. The conductor asked me for change but I did not have any. Then he simply said that I can pay through UPI. I was amazed to use it," recalled the passenger on FB.
"Nice initiative. More buses need to implement this UPI payment system," said Supriyo Nandi. "It was introduced a few years back at Bangalore bus services… In fact, a few days back I paid a Toto through UPI. So why not use it in buses," said another passenger Sandipan Ghosh.
Aniket Banerjee, general secretary of Kolkata Bus-o-pedia, said that the system needs to be regimented. "The QR code needs to be framed so that it cannot be misused," he said.
