Am I right when I say that people, in general, are greedy? You may not agree with that. Let me share a recent experience of mine, then you decide whether you agree with me or not.
I was taking a bus from Puttaparthy to Bangalore last Sunday. It was a Volvo bus, run by KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation). This bus is a luxury bus, and passengers are charged a premium. Of course, the expectations from the passengers are also high. They expect a good-service, which includes on-time pickup and drop, well-mannered staff, and the other freebies, like the mineral-water served to each passenger, and a good movie, which may be played during the 4-hour journey.
One special feature of this bus was that there was only one staff member allotted. He performs the role of the driver as well as the bus-conductor. When I boarded the bus, he checked my ticket, and then made a note in his record-book. I made my way to the seat allotted to me, and settled down comfortably. Soon all the passengers were on-board and the conductor (or the driver, as we may call him) came to check whether all seats were occupied or not. He came near my seat, and then looked up at a lady who was travelling with her 2 sons. She was in her early 30s. The conductor asked her to as to who were the children with her. She pointed out both of them to him. The younger son was around 6 years, and the elder 11.
The problem started regarding the elder son. The conductor refused to believe that the elder son was 11 years. According to him, he was 12 years old, and she should pay extra fare for him. (Bus-fare for children below 12 years of age is half the fare of an adult passenger.) The lady refused to do so as she insisted that her son was below 12. She had booked the ticket through the Internet, and on the KSRTC website there was no indication asking the passengers to carry any proof-of-age. Thus she did not have any document to prove that she was right. The conductor was not ready to give up. The matter erupted into heated argument, till another passenger interrupted. He was a decent looking man with an air of authority around him. He softly, but firmly, told the conductor that he had no choice, but to believe the mother. No rule exists that will support his cause as mother's word will be taken as the final one in front of any authority of the law. The conductor continued to crib, said that they might encounter a problem on the way, and then left. Soon the bus started, we reached our destination 4 hours later without any discomfort.
I wondered what was the real motive of the conductor to raise this issue. Did he not know the rules? Or was he trying to get some 'extra income'? Did he target that woman because she was without a male escort?
I went to the KSRTC website, but did not find a link where I could register my complaint :-(
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