Can the way a City's bus service runs reveal interesting information about its work ethic?
Strange it may seem but hold on..it can turn out to be true as well!!
Let's start with Calcutta (or the modern day Kolkata), though i still prefer the sweet old colonial name more than the newer one. Carrying on with it's tradition of holding on the past and changing, albeit at a slow pace, the city was forced to replace its fleet of wooden, rickety and fumes belching Grand daddies on the road with the JNUURM sponsored low floor buses with wider standing spaces, better fuel efficiencies and less polluting ones after the courts intervened.
However one should look at the plight of the bus conductors here, with it probably being the only city in India where two conductors mann a single bus! These poor souls have to politely ask for the fare from passengers, who more often than not seem more interested in delaying the inevitable(paying for the ticket) for no understandable reason, other than earning higher interests on their money by keeping it longer in their pockets. Seems either one is not enough to handle all the passengers or there are more mouths to feed than work which is available here.
They have no option but to put up with their wretched existence, with the present government too not ready to raise fares, lest it upsets the aam aadmi and hence its continuity in power.
Moving on to New Delhi, our capital and the first city to introduce CNG run buses calling them by different names like the Blue Line, and so on. Here the bus conductor is the king as enjoys a comfortable ride through out the journey, firmly ensconced in his seat, not moving an inch even. The passenger as the meek subject has to ensure he goes to the king(bus conductor) immediately after boarding and humbly request for a ticket to be provided. In case he opens his mouth to protest against any delay in being given what's his due right, expletives and angry stares greet him. If you are new and request him to inform you the place you need to get off, once it comes chances are that you may not get a response some times.
Further the drivers too drive in a manner which shows that they are the King of the roads here, not caring for who else is on the roads or inside the bus. In fact true to the city's reputation as the seat of political power in the country, it's bus conductors and drivers too lead a royal existence.
From the seat of political power to the seat of financial power, as we move to Bombay(or as the Marathi manoos would say it...Mumbai) things change drastically. True to its billing of being a city always on the move, its bus service is simply the BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking).
A single man with a neat uniform which has a professional touch to it, can easily manage hundreds of passengers jostling for space at the rush hour, as he paces up and down the bus, taking fares, delivering tickets, shouting stop names and managing the crowds all at the same time, even without getting too flustered about it. Multi tasking and keeping your cool under pressure at it's best you can say. Even the drivers go about their jobs in a disciplined way, strictly adhering to their time schedules and treating roads strictly as 'PUBLIC Property'. Professionalism to the core which is what the city tries to reflect to the outside world as well.
Wonder if their cousins in Delhi and Kolkata could get trained under them, things would be a lot better.
But then to each one his own...let them be as they are, and let us experience their differences and enjoy the idiosyncrasies which come with it.
After all would India be so interesting were it to lose it's diversity? What say? So the next time you want to know more about a city, just take a ride on its bus.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are purely personal and with the objective of bringing out the difference between the cities, rather than demeaning or speaking ill of anyone. The writer apologizes to anyone who might feel hurt on reading this and welcomes inputs about other cities)
Strange it may seem but hold on..it can turn out to be true as well!!
Let's start with Calcutta (or the modern day Kolkata), though i still prefer the sweet old colonial name more than the newer one. Carrying on with it's tradition of holding on the past and changing, albeit at a slow pace, the city was forced to replace its fleet of wooden, rickety and fumes belching Grand daddies on the road with the JNUURM sponsored low floor buses with wider standing spaces, better fuel efficiencies and less polluting ones after the courts intervened.
However one should look at the plight of the bus conductors here, with it probably being the only city in India where two conductors mann a single bus! These poor souls have to politely ask for the fare from passengers, who more often than not seem more interested in delaying the inevitable(paying for the ticket) for no understandable reason, other than earning higher interests on their money by keeping it longer in their pockets. Seems either one is not enough to handle all the passengers or there are more mouths to feed than work which is available here.
They have no option but to put up with their wretched existence, with the present government too not ready to raise fares, lest it upsets the aam aadmi and hence its continuity in power.
Moving on to New Delhi, our capital and the first city to introduce CNG run buses calling them by different names like the Blue Line, and so on. Here the bus conductor is the king as enjoys a comfortable ride through out the journey, firmly ensconced in his seat, not moving an inch even. The passenger as the meek subject has to ensure he goes to the king(bus conductor) immediately after boarding and humbly request for a ticket to be provided. In case he opens his mouth to protest against any delay in being given what's his due right, expletives and angry stares greet him. If you are new and request him to inform you the place you need to get off, once it comes chances are that you may not get a response some times.
Further the drivers too drive in a manner which shows that they are the King of the roads here, not caring for who else is on the roads or inside the bus. In fact true to the city's reputation as the seat of political power in the country, it's bus conductors and drivers too lead a royal existence.
From the seat of political power to the seat of financial power, as we move to Bombay(or as the Marathi manoos would say it...Mumbai) things change drastically. True to its billing of being a city always on the move, its bus service is simply the BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking).
A single man with a neat uniform which has a professional touch to it, can easily manage hundreds of passengers jostling for space at the rush hour, as he paces up and down the bus, taking fares, delivering tickets, shouting stop names and managing the crowds all at the same time, even without getting too flustered about it. Multi tasking and keeping your cool under pressure at it's best you can say. Even the drivers go about their jobs in a disciplined way, strictly adhering to their time schedules and treating roads strictly as 'PUBLIC Property'. Professionalism to the core which is what the city tries to reflect to the outside world as well.
Wonder if their cousins in Delhi and Kolkata could get trained under them, things would be a lot better.
But then to each one his own...let them be as they are, and let us experience their differences and enjoy the idiosyncrasies which come with it.
After all would India be so interesting were it to lose it's diversity? What say? So the next time you want to know more about a city, just take a ride on its bus.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are purely personal and with the objective of bringing out the difference between the cities, rather than demeaning or speaking ill of anyone. The writer apologizes to anyone who might feel hurt on reading this and welcomes inputs about other cities)
hmm daboo nice observation bt i guess only patience cn get smbdy to tk a bus ride. Waitn fr mr blogs. Atb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Madhumita. Read your comment today!:)
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