Ludhiana: At a time when digital transactions have become ubiquitous, passengers traveling on state-run buses in Punjab continue to face inconvenience due to the lack of UPI, debit, and credit card payment options.Commuters in the city stated that the absence of cashless payment facilities creates daily friction, particularly when conductors or passengers lack exact change. Regular commuters highlighted that while roadside vendors and petrol pumps adopted UPI long ago, state transport authorities have lagged behind in introducing modern ticketing infrastructure.The cash-only constraint impacts both sides. Conductors, unable to provide exact balance, often write remaining amounts on tickets for later settlement during the journey, forcing passengers to track unpaid balances. Commuters noted that scanning a QR code to pay exact fares would streamline operations and eliminate change disputes entirely.Calling for urgent modernisation, commuter Simarjit Singh said, “Today, UPI payments are being accepted almost everywhere. It has been a long time since even petrol stations and vegetable vendors on street started accepting UPI payments, but govt buses still do not have this facility. It speaks volumes about where the transport department stands when it comes to adopting new technology. The facility should be introduced urgently.”Highlighting operational hurdles, college student Karanvir added, “The problem of cash and change is faced by both passengers and conductors. Many times, conductors do not have enough change. In such cases, they write the balance amount on the ticket and tell passengers that they will return it later when they have the change. Sometimes, passengers even have to remind them about it.”Addressing the issue, Punbus depot general manager Navraj Batish stated that the department is rolling out upgraded infrastructure. He announced that new e-ticketing machines allowing UPI and card payments are expected to be deployed within a month, adding that the automated system will simultaneously digitise ticketing records for better administrative tracking.
