KSRTC commuter in a Rs 1-dilemma

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has been surprising a regular passenger for the past two months by charging two different rates for his travel on the same route.Sumesh (name changed) works in the city and reaches his hometown, Valakom, by a KSRTC service originating from the Thampanoor Central Station. While all other buses charge him ` 43 for the Thiruvananthapuram-Valakom ticket, a Kottayam-bound bus charges  ` 44.  ‘’On several days, I was charged ` 1 extra on this bus belonging to the Kottayam depot. Whenever I pointed out the anomaly, the conductors did not pay any attention,’’ he said. The officials of Kottayam depot said that such an error was unlikely to occur. ‘’However, we will look into the matter,’’ they said.  Sumesh said that he now avoids travelling on the ‘costly’ service that leaves the station around 9 pm. ‘’Though that bus is most convenient for me, I opt for the next bus these days,’’ he said.