Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has restricted group ticketing under Priyadarshini free travel scheme after detecting irregularities in issiong tickets. Conductors can now issue a maximum of 5 tickets together under the group ticketing facility.

The decision follows complaints that some conductors issued excess tickets, causing financial loss to the government. In one reported case, a woman travelling alone was allegedly issued 9 tickets by a conductor. Following the complaint, KSRTC temporarily suspended group ticketing on Wednesday.

The ticketing machines were initially modified to allow only one ticket per transaction. However, after conductors across the state complained about the practical difficulties, the system was revised later that night to permit the issuance of up to 5 tickets together.

Under the Priyadarshini scheme, the state government reimburses KSRTC for free travel provided to eligible women and transgender passengers. The existing group ticketing system allowed a single ticket to be issued for passengers travelling together. However, some conductors allegedly misused the facility by issuing multiple tickets to women travelling alone to inflate passenger numbers.

Since passengers are not charged and the ticket does not display the amount, most travellers reportedly failed to notice the discrepancy, allowing some employees to exploit the system.

Allegations have also surfaced that the irregularities are part of an attempt by opposition-backed organisations to undermine the Priyadarshini scheme. KSRTC had earlier warned conductors that failing to issue tickets causes financial losses to the corporation, while issuing fake tickets for non-existent passengers amounts to defrauding the government. Action has already been taken against employees who failed to issue tickets even though passengers travelled free of cost.

The restriction on group ticketing is expected to increase the workload of conductors and operational costs for KSRTC. Conductors will now have to issue separate tickets to passengers travelling together. KSRTC also pays 14 paise per ticket to the Chalo company, which operates the online ticketing system and provides the ticketing machines.

With the number of women passengers increasing under the Priyadarshini scheme, ordinary KSRTC buses are already witnessing heavy rush. Issuing individual tickets is expected to further add to conductors' workload.