Belagavi consumer court tells redBus, travel company to compensate family after bus breakdown

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Belagavi recently ordered online travel booking platform redBus and a travel agency it hosted, Pauls Travels, to compensate a family that had availed their services and had raised a complaint about the inconveniences faced due to the sudden bus breakdown [Ashok Kadam & Ors v. redBus India Pvt. Ltd. & Anr.].

Neither RedBus nor Pauls Travels arranged for alternate transport after the bus broke down mid-journey.

Further, redBus only offered ₹500 has a refund, whereas the complainants sought a full refund of ₹535 per ticket for a family of five.

The family filed a consumer complaint, wherein they also sought ₹5 lakhs as compensation on the ground that they lost out on a food catering tender because they were unable to make it to their travel destination on time due to the bus breakdown.

In an order passed last month, the consumer commission ordered a full refund of ticket fares with interest, but opined that ₹20,000 was sufficient compensation for the inconveniences caused to the family.

The consumer forum President Sanjeev V Kulkarni and Member SS Kadrollimath, opined that the family had not placed any evidence to prove their 'fabulous' claim that they lost out on work worth ₹5 lakhs due to the bus breakdown.

However, it acknowledged that the family deserved to be compensated for the inconvenience that was otherwise caused due to the bus breakdown.

"Complainants have suffered inconvenience due to the breakdown of the bus plied by OP.2 (Pauls Travels) bus operator... Considering the pain, agony and suffering and as OP.1 (redBus) did not comes to the rescue of the complainants even though OP.1 (redBus) got registered the complaint through online process... the complainants ought to have been compensated for their inconvenience caused during transit and period to reach Mumbai," it said.

The commission thus directed redBus and Pauls Travels to refund the ticket amount of ₹4,380 to the complainants, along with interest at 8 per cent per annum from March 1, 2024 (date of breakdown), until the date of full payment.

In addition, it ordered payment of ₹20,000 as compensation for mental agony and ₹5,000 towards litigation costs.

The commission also rejected the argument that redBus had no responsibility in the matter

The commission held that since redBus and the bus operator were contractually linked in providing the service, both were responsible for compensating the passengers for the inconvenience caused.

“Admittedly it is tie up between OP.1 (redBus) and 2 (Pauls Travels) to get passenger service through online booking service and there is privity of contract between OP.1(redBus) and 2 (Pauls Travels) in respect of attracting the online booking service... Hence OP.1(redBus) and 2 (Pauls Travels) are liable to indemnify the loss or inconvenience caused to the complainants in this particular case,” said the commission.

The complainants, five members of a family, had booked five AC sleeper seats on redBus for a Belagavi-to-Mumbai trip on February 29, 2024, paying ₹4,380 for a bus operated by Pauls Travels. After reaching Mumbai, they said that they planned to go to Delhi for a food festival event, where a family member stood a chance to win a tender for food catering work.

However, the bus to Mumbai broke down in the early hours of March 1, 2024, around 40 km before Pune.

The driver informed the passengers that the bus had developed a technical fault and would take several hours to repair.

The commission noted that the passengers had to make their own alternate travel arrangements and eventually reached Mumbai much later than planned.

RedBus appeared before the commission and admitted that the tickets were booked through its platform and that the bus had indeed broken down during the journey.

However, it argued that it merely acts as an online ticketing intermediary and not as the bus operator, citing its user agreement to deny responsibility. RedBus also said it had offered a goodwill refund of ₹500, which the complainants declined.

Pauls Travels, on the other hand, did not appear before the commission despite being served notice. The matter was thus decided without hearing them.

The commission proceeded to reject redBus' stance in the matter and held both the ticket booking platform as well as Pauls Travels jointly liable to refund the complainants for the tickets they bought and compensate them for the inconvenience caused by the bus breakdown.

The complainants were represented by advocate Rohit Latur.

RedBus India Pvt. Ltd was represented by Advocate PS Joshi.

[Read Order]