An official release said 1,522 persons travelling without tickets were fined Rs 1.97 lakh in September while 3,122 were penalised Rs 3.54 lakh in October.

According to the Motor Vehicles Act, to travel without a ticket or the pass on MTC is an offence. “Such ticketless travelling leads to loss of revenue for the MTC. We have been creating awareness among passengers to avoid travelling without a ticket,” the release said, adding as part of the awareness initiative, the MTC has been conducting surprise ticket checkings daily. Those found without ticket were fined Rs 500 each, it added.

Meanwhile, the corporation officials said the number of passengers travelling on MTC buses have gone up during the weekends due to Deepavali purchases. “Buses to and from T Nagar were running almost full on Saturday and Sunday. Passengers were not bothered about the social distancing norms and usage of hand sanitisers kept on bus,” complained a conductor. He said some passengers were even not wearing the masks properly.

He also opined that the corporation should operate all the buses and also start early morning and night services for the convenience of the passengers.