Mumbai: BEST bus conductor stops theft from his cash bag

A bus conductor stands on the road with a cash bag to board a bus for duty

BEST bus conductors standing on streets with cash bags have become a new issue of concern after a recent attempt to snatch money from a bus conductor standing at the bus stop at Jogeshwari.

"It was around 9.25 pm on Saturday (October 16) when the incident took place. I was waiting at a bus stop on SV Road, Jogeshwari for a bus on ground booking duty, when I felt a light pat on my shoulder bag. I found a well-dressed person trying to take some currency notes from my bag. I immediately caught his hand and shouted. Luckily, a colleague, who was standing nearby, also caught hold of the person. Another bus inspector, who was standing on the opposite side of the road, also joined and we overpowered the thief and handed him over to the police," the bus conductor said.

Bus conductors said the undertaking must reconsider ground booking duties like these as they can turn risky for them in case of violent attacks. "BEST should discontinue this dangerous practice as it is putting an unnecessary pressure on the staff," a conductor said.

The BEST undertaking had brought in the scheme of conductorless buses last year, as part of which a bus conductor issues and checks at the first stop and the bus is then dispatched to the end destination with passengers. These buses do not halt at any other stops, and even if someone boards the bus mid-way, there is no one to issue tickets.

Staffers had earlier complained that this move was leading to loss of revenue and buses were missing crucial passenger traffic, leading to inconvenience of commuters as well. BEST officials did not comment on the matter but said they would look into the safety and security aspect of its staff.

16 October
Day when the attempted theft of the bag occurred