To reduce the
‘mountain’ of coins piling every day after the July 9 bus fare cut, the BEST
undertaking has decided to offer loose change to citizens, including traders,
in exchange for high denomination currency at any of its 27 bus depots between
9.30am and 3.30pm.
The BEST has
collected more than 1.7 crore coins of Rs 5 denomination, in addition coins of
Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 10 denomination since it slashed the minimum fare to Rs 5
for a 5-km ride in a regular bus and Rs 6 for a 5-km ride in an AC one. “We
collect coins totalling Rs 12 lakh-Rs 15 lakh at our 27 depots daily. Besides,
we also have Rs 10 and Rs 20 notes in abundance. Citizens can swap notes for
the loose change from our depots,” said an official, adding that the service
will not be available on Sundays and public holidays.
Recently, the BEST
had procured two PARAS-950
coin-counting machines to segregate and count coins. “The machines, which have
been kept at Colaba and Wadala bus depots, were necessary as employees were
burdened with the task of counting a massive collection of coins from more than
400 routes daily,” said BEST committee member Sunil Ganacharya. “Also, the
machines generate accurate reports with the various denominations and their
value as well as total number of coins and total value. All 27 bus depots will
get the machines in phases.”
Coins are placed on
the machine, which then segregates and puts them in four slots each for Re 1,
Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10. It also counts the coins and shows the number and the
value on a digital screen. At the press of a button, a final report is
generated on a printer. “Earlier, staffers would take hours manually counting
coins, now the task is completed within minutes using the machines,” said a
depot manager.(The Times of India, Mumbai | Tuesday, September 24, 2019)