Of tokens & tokenism

Nearly 4,000 Calcuttans now have something in common: all of them possess a round, black disc fitted with a microchip. What binds these citizens are the ‘tokens’ introduced by the Metro Railway. In more than a token gesture of appreciation, commuters pocketed 4,000 of the 3.5 lakh tokens that are supposedly in circulation. That there are 4,000 kleptomaniacs prowling Calcutta’s underground railway network is improbable. Some have attributed the disappearance of tokens to enterprising Bengali carrom addicts replacing ghuntis (carrom discs) with the new devices. 

Whatever may be the case, Metro authorities have been left counting the losses, and, perhaps, cursing their underpreparedness. The inability to apprehend unforeseen developments -- a malaise that cripples most of India’s public institutions dedicated towards people’s welfare -- has turned the perfunctory task of introducing a new ticketing system into a wasteful exercise.

The attempts to inform commuters about the impending change could be described as tokenish. I have occasionally heard a dismembered voice on an ancient sound system trying to teach commuters how to use tokens. Unsurprisingly, the audience remained glued to a gyrating Deepika Padukone on the TV sets. Very few commuters were aware that return or multi-ride tickets would not be available and that smart cards would disappear in a few days. A panic-stricken management was forced to reintroduce paper tickets after the queues got unmanageable. Not just the ineptness but the subtle, but devious, attempt to implicate commuters in the crisis has been shocking. As a public transport system, Metro Railways failed to establish modules to sensitise passengers. I wonder whether commuters’ opinions were sought or comprehensive surveys conducted to assuage public opinion about the change.

When blood spilled on Mumbai’s streets, the establishment rued the absence of Israel’s ‘citizen security culture’ in India. Burglars broke into a Salt Lake home recently, and it was again the people, and not the cops, who swung into action first. Now, Metro commuters are being blamed for an administrative lapse. I wonder what is lined next on our duty roster: preventing suicides on the tracks or fixing faulty air-conditioners in the handful of AC coaches?