CHENNAI: It looks like the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) Chennai has finally found a way to prevent misuse of free bus passes distributed to students. It has invited bids from manufacturers to supply smart bus passes with unique identity features.
The state government will spend Rs 1.8 crore to print 3.1 lakh smart cards for Chennai students and their counterparts (22.1 lakh) in other parts of the state. Pre-bid meeting will be held at the Institute of Road Transport (IRT), Taramani, on Thursday.
For the past three years, the transport department hasn’t printed any buses passes and, instead, allowed students to either use the old passes or their college ID cards. Not all stateowned schools issue ID cards. So, the government allowed students wearing school uniforms to travel free in MTC buses.
Using this loophole, many youngsters started travelling in MTC for free by wearing their old uniforms. Some started presenting fake ID cards to conductors, said R M Swamy from AAP Transport Workers' Union. A senior transport department official said duplication of the new smart cards with holograms will not be possible.
The smart pass will have personal details of the student, photo, information on origin and destination and a unique pass number, the official said.
At the college level, the free bus scheme is applicable only for government arts and science college students and not for those from government-aided institutions.
