Since January 26, “secret passengers” have been working on Lviv buses. These are employees of the control department of Lvivavtodor, dressed in civilian clothes. Their task is to record violations by drivers or passengers. This information is then passed on to the carriers, the transport department, or controllers. In the first 5 days, the “secret controllers” documented about 40 violations committed by drivers.
Among the most common is the failure to issue paper tickets for cash payments. In such cases, police representatives are called in to draw up a report against the drivers under Article 51 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. “There are also cases when drivers ask passengers to return tickets when they get out of the vehicle and then re-issue these old tickets. In addition, drivers print tickets in advance, which makes the tickets invalid when they “change the circle”.
Among other violations, drivers do not stop at a bus stop or on demand, talk on the phone while driving, which affects safety, and smoke in the cabin,” Lvivavtodor said.
The utility emphasizes: “secret passengers” do not just record drivers’ violations, all the information collected is passed on to carriers for response, first of all, to conduct appropriate work with drivers. And also to the Department of Transport and the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure to ensure control over the elimination of abuses.
Lvivavtodor notes that the work of “secret passengers” encourages both drivers and passengers to be responsible. “We ask passengers once again: when paying in cash, ask for tickets from drivers and check the actual time and date of the ticket printing. After all, this is a confirmation of your fare payment during the control. When our “secret passengers” detect passengers who do not pay the fare, they call controllers in special uniforms, who try to arrive promptly to document the fact and impose a fine. It is cheaper to pay the fare than to pay a fine,” Lvivavtodor states.
They add: honest payment of tolls and issuance of tickets in cash means filling the budget, which is also used for the needs of our army. In addition, transparent accounting of payments will allow transportation companies to raise drivers’ official salaries.
At the same time, the utility company thanked conscientious and responsible drivers who issue tickets in good faith and inform passengers about the need to keep the ticket to avoid a fine. “You are a positive example for your colleagues, thank you,” Lvivavtodor said.
By the way, since the introduction of cashless fares in all public transport in Lviv, more than 2 thousand passengers have been fined. The amount of the fine is UAH 300.