The increasing pollution and congestion in the air have probably forced birds in India to use public transport instead. However, they may not be aware of the ticket fares they need to pay before travelling. One such ignorant pigeon got a bus conductor of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) in trouble. A bus conductor was fined and issued a memo for letting a pigeon travel in his bus without a ticket.
The conductor was caught violating the law when the cops stopped the government bus that was travelling to Ellavadi, a remote tribal village in Tamil Nadu, to check tickets. It was then that the cops saw noticed the pigeon occupying the window (seat?) and also a drunk man having a conversation with it.
The cops immediately turned to the conductor and questioned whether a bird ticket was issued for the pigeon or not. Upset with the answer, they later fined the conductor for not being vigilant and letting an animal travel without a ticket.
As per the rules laid out by the transport department, a conductor should collect one-fourth of the full fare when a passenger is carrying over 30 pigeons at a time, however, according to an official quoted by a TOI report,“The rules don’t mention charging passengers for transporting one pigeon.”
We all hope that this incident will make sure that the bus driver and conductor are more aware of the passengers they ferry. No?