December 01, 2006
If you're one of those common Filipino folks like me who have to take a bus on a regular basis, then you might have noticed a sign like this on some of your rides:
For the longest time, I had no idea what "No ticket, no pay" actually meant. It just sounds wrong. I mean, shouldn't it be the other way around? The direction of the implication is wrong. It should be "No pay, no ticket", or in other words, "Passengers must pay in order to get a ticket". I've always assumed that this was another one of those signs with funny bastardized English that tourists love to snicker at and take pictures of. (To be fair though, the English signs in the Philippines are much better compared to the ones you find in non-English-speaking countries.) I imagine that it all started with one bus company and the others just followed suit.
In a moment of inspiration, while I was buying food for take-out at Jollibee, I finally figured it out. One of the signs by the cashier went something like "Do not pay unless you are given a receipt". Then it struck me: the bus ticket is actually a receipt.
The sign "No ticket, no pay" isn't telling the passenger that you can't get a ticket to ride unless you pay. What it actually means is that you don't have to pay if the conductor doesn't give you a ticket/receipt. The sign is standing up for your rights as a passenger and as a consumer!
(Please don't tell me that I'm the only one who doesn't know about this.)
For the longest time, I had no idea what "No ticket, no pay" actually meant. It just sounds wrong. I mean, shouldn't it be the other way around? The direction of the implication is wrong. It should be "No pay, no ticket", or in other words, "Passengers must pay in order to get a ticket". I've always assumed that this was another one of those signs with funny bastardized English that tourists love to snicker at and take pictures of. (To be fair though, the English signs in the Philippines are much better compared to the ones you find in non-English-speaking countries.) I imagine that it all started with one bus company and the others just followed suit.In a moment of inspiration, while I was buying food for take-out at Jollibee, I finally figured it out. One of the signs by the cashier went something like "Do not pay unless you are given a receipt". Then it struck me: the bus ticket is actually a receipt.
The sign "No ticket, no pay" isn't telling the passenger that you can't get a ticket to ride unless you pay. What it actually means is that you don't have to pay if the conductor doesn't give you a ticket/receipt. The sign is standing up for your rights as a passenger and as a consumer!
(Please don't tell me that I'm the only one who doesn't know about this.)
I think its intention is to warn passengers not to lose their ticket while still in the bus. Ticket inspectors usually come into the bus in the middle of the trip to check on passengers and passengers without tickets should pay again.
@Erwin: That would be "No ticket, no ride". Or, "No ticket, PAY!" :D
with regards to the do not pay when you dont get a receipt sign...
will you be able to get the receipt before paying?
i mean, cash registers work in a way that payment is done first before issuance of receipts.... so in essence, you've already done the paying, before a decision of issuance of receipt ever gets decided upon. think about it.
unless you have those pen/peper type of transactions when they actually give you the receipt first, then give you change.
-lonewolf
I think they're not really thinking about consumer rights... The reason why they do this is to make sure that the conductor doesn't run off with the passenger's money, since all transactions are accounted for. It's more for selfish reasons i think.
i agree with erwin, it purpose is for lost tickets
I dunno about you guys but I think it speaks of consumer's rights (as what Punzki have said) and also to warn the riding public about the danger of handing out your money to strangers. Usually, they give you the ticket first before they ask for the payment (unlike in foodchains where you pay first before getting a receipt).
Also, checkers are there to audit the number of tickets at hand. This will give them an idea on how much profit they've earned even without actually counting the money yet (which they usually does at the end of the work day). The reason why they check the tickets of every passengers is not really to check if the passengers have a ticket or have paid for the travel but actually to counter check what have been written by the conductor in the logsheet (the whitepaper where they write down the time of the check and the begining ticket number at hand).
About handling the money to strangers. You know how rampant street hawkers are. They usually offer you something to buy. Some people misunderstood them as the conductor and so hands over their money only to realize their mistake after that street hawker gives him an item. It's a usual cause of brawls and disputes.
It is interesting that 3 words can mean a different things to different people. Anyhow, I think what's common between all the comments is... "Pay to the right person when riding a bus, and don't forget to get your ticket" hahahahaha