Tamil Nadu bus conductor asked to issue ticket to a pigeon
- Never travel ticketless, or with a bird in a Tamil Nadu government bus
- Or else the ticket inspector may just penalise you for it
- No it is not a September 10 joke
FollowWhen you travel ticketless, what happens? You end up paying a fine and hearing some choice words from either the bus conductor or the ticket inspector. Moral of the story – Do not travel ticketless.
However, what will you tell a pigeon if it is on the bus travelling with you?
Shoo!
We would do that.
But seems like this Tamil Nadu bus conductor was unaware of the winged passenger on the bus. When the ticket inspector came – he found a man and a pigeon happily sharing a seat. Where’s your ticket? Demanded the ticket checker. No reply.
Where’s the ticket for the bird? Asked the ticket checker to the bus conductor. A bewildered and mightily confused conductor was left scratching his head.
So, the trip ended with the conductor in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) getting a memo for not issuing a ticket to the pigeon perched on the window of bus. The pigeon was reportedly keeping a drunk passenger company from its perch in a window of the bus, reported the Times of India.
The conductor on board the government bus connecting Harur and Ellavadi was on the outskirts of Harur town when the transport department’s ticket inspector flagged down the vehicle. The report claims the inspector caught the drunk man holding the pigeon and ‘having a conversation’ with it.
Meanwhile, since the bus conductor could not justify the pigeon’s presence on the vehicle, the inspector quoted a rule purportedly mandating tickets for animals and birds on the bus as well. There is also a rule which states that conductors should collect one-fourth of the full fare when a passenger is carrying more than 30 pigeons at a time. In his defence, the conductor said the bird wasn’t in the bus at the time the passenger boarded. Unimpressed, the ticket collector issued him a memo.
Transport officials say the conductor was not needed to issue a ticket to a single pigeon and that they will wait for Monday to see what charges the ticket inspector will submit.
Meanwhile, bus conductors there have become a wary lot and are keeping a look out for birds on the bus.
