- Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh conducted surprise inspections of BMTC bus services in Bengaluru
- He travelled in disguise to assess bus facilities and crew behaviour with passengers firsthand
- The minister was asked to deboard a bus after conductor claimed he had no change for Rs 100 note
Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh conducted surprise inspections of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) services as he recently travelled in disguise, like an ordinary passenger, to understand how the department functions. The inspections were also conducted to check the bus facilities and the behaviour of the crew with passengers. The minister wanted to know about the difficulties faced by thousands of travellers and the transport department employees.
"Conducted a surprise field inspection by travelling on BMTC buses across Bengaluru to assess commuter experience firsthand," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Ensuring safe, reliable and accountable public transport remains our highest priority."
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Citing official sources, news agency PTI reported that the minister got a reality check when he was made to deboard a bus by a conductor, who said that he didn't have enough cash to return.
As per the sources, the minister boarded the bus at Hebbal and travelled to Nagashettihalli. When the conductor approached him for a ticket, Suresh extended Rs 100 towards him. The conductor said he did not have change for it and asked the passenger to give him exact change.
Unaware he was speaking to the state's transport minister, the conductor told Suresh to get down if he couldn't pay the exact fare.
Watch the video here:
As per the news agency, the conductor even asked to pay through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), but the minister apparently didn't want to do so.
The source noted that the minister politely complied when the conductor told him to get off the bus.
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Social media reaction
"Great work! I truly appreciate your efforts in making the system and associated aware that someone is observing their work and activities," one user wrote in the comment section.
"All ministers should do inspections across Karnataka in the coming days, not just Bengaluru," another user suggested.
"I really admire the local bus services especially the AC bus services in ORR. They are far better than Autos, especially in terms of comfort and pricing. Let's also upgrade the city roads, ensuring the continuity of the services!!!" a third user said.
