No person shall enter or remain in any stage carriage for the purposes of travelling therein unless he has with him a proper pass or ticket:
Provided that where arrangements for the supply of tickets are made in the stage carriage by which a person has to travel, a person may enter such stage carriage but as soon as may be after his entry therein, he shall make the payment of his fare to the conductor or the driver who performs the functions of a conductor and obtain from such conductor or driver, as the case may be, a ticket for his journey.
Explanation.— In this section, "ticket" includes any token of authorisation for travel on payment thereof.
(a) pass means a duty privilege or courtesy pass entitling the person to whom it is given to travel in a stage carriage gratuitously and includes a pass issued on payment for travel in a stage carriage for the period specified therein;
(b) ticket includes a single ticket, a return ticket or a season ticket.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 124
Section 124 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 prohibits entry or travel in any stage carriage without a valid pass or ticket, imposes an immediate duty to tender fare upon boarding, and establishes statutory definitions covering duty passes, season passes, and travel tokens.
In departmental disciplinary inquiries or labor court disputes involving public transport conductors charged with carrying un-ticketed passengers, verify whether the inspection occurred between adjacent, short-distance stages before the conductor could reasonably complete fare collection under the 'as soon as may be' leeway in Section 124 proviso.