As a result of thorough and relentless campaigning over ten days, officials of the Indian Railways in Jammu fined over Rs 32 lakh on 2,500 passengers who were travelling without valid tickets or travelling irregularly.
These numbers are not simply numbers. They are a clear and loud indication that rules mean something and that the right to travel on a train comes with a fundamental obligation – the payment of a ticket.
The announcement by the Jammu Railway Division will be heard loud and clear by anyone who is honest with themselves and has ever been bitter about the fare dodger game.
The numbers may appear staggering at first sight. Who could miss the sheer volume of 250 passengers per day on average and fines exceeding Rs 3.2 lakh each day? This figure gives the impression of a widespread and distressing problem.
For far too long, ticketless travel has been viewed a minor non-violent crime, a calculated risk with very easy consequences.
This misapprehension has cost the government – and taxpayers – crores every year, that could contribute directly to badly needed train modernisation, maintenance and safety projects for the railway.
Every free-rider, in some cases, is having their travel subsidised by paying the passenger.
The action has multiple advantages, the first being an immediate deterrent. The consequence of a ticketless journey is an economically unreasonable gamble based on the consequence of a monetary cap.
It permits the cost to be distributed fairly, and restores the trust of the vast majority of paying and law abiding passengers.
Nothing angers a commuting person more than seeing a seat occupied by someone who cable of widespread disregard or breach of the rules other than during peak travel time.
On a positive note, though, this agitation is not manifested into an episodic effort that just gets publicity and headlines.
The degree of illegal activity that was caught in only ten days consistently indicates that this is very serious, and an issue we have to confront long term.
To do so drastic actions like this must be done in a way that continue to get to the occasional or sporadic campaign, but rather to a consistent, integrated system of monitoring that sustains itself.
