It is already a nightmare if you have to take the public transport on normal days in Bangalore. Add to it what I just suffered and then answer the question I pose in the title.
On a humid Tuesday night, I leave office at the end of my shift only to go down to the parking and find out that my bike has a flat tyre. Well .. putting the disappointment of not being able to zoot off home on my bike after the end of a long I walk up to the main gate of the premises. 15 mins and no BMTC bus in sight, I begin to entertain thoughts of taking an auto all the way home .. which would have costed me a fortune considering it was already past 9 pm. Usually Bangalore auto drivers start charging double just about after dusk. Thankfully, a 201 G bus arrives to break my thought chain and I get into it.
The usual conductor asking me to go towards the rear end and then scribbling the change he is supposed to give me on the back on the ticket ensues. Most of the standing population of the bus get down just a stop from where I got in and I am pleasantly surprised at my luck. Last time I used the public transport unavoidably was more than a year ago. I had stood all the way from office to home on that journey. I get a seat and am contemplating talking to my wife, who is in a Shreya Ghoshal concert at the BGU with my folks in tow. Several attempts to dial her number are in vain due to the obvious network congestion. Meanwhile, the bus driver changes gears mentally and almost dashes into another BMTC bus taking a turn at the Madiwala market road. It comes across as strange that this guy should sulk at not being able to overtake the other bus .. but he conveniently forgets he is driving a bus packed with around 40 people. He floors the throttle pedal and on that lame-potholed-less-than-seven-feet-wide road as he drives recklessly behind the bus he tried to overtake. I get a sense of deja vu and ...... THUD .. CRASH .. BOOM. A girl has gone crashing towards the front door of the bus while all others have either fallen down or are displaced like electrons of a metal being heating. While no one suffered any major injuries .. most of us did hurt ourselves in one way of the other. I jammed my left knee into the rear end of the seat in front of me while controlling myself from hitting my temple against the seat.
Most of the people who are already getting late alight and start moving towards the nearest bus stop. I walk to the front of the bus and strike a conversation with the driver.
Me: Why did you have to drive like that?
Him: Don't say anything to me .. ask him why did he apply brakes first? Pointing towards the bus in the front.
Me: *Beep* *Cuss word* Is this your father's vehicle, that you drive around recklessly. *Cuss word* *Cuss word* who the h*** gave you a licence to drive on the roads you maniac? Do you have anyone at home or .... *Cuss word*
The conductor now tries to pacify me and asks me to get down .. I in turn patiently ask him to give me the change he is due, to me. He stares at me thinking what kind of an idiot am I to ask him for change in such a situation.
Conductor: Do you have any brains, how can you ask me for change in a situation like this?
Me: You think am foolish enough to pay for shoddy, abysmal, erratic and third grade service like this? Out with my change .. you ... *Cuss word*
I don't feel the slightest remorse of having collected my petty change from that guy as I get down.
The front of our bus and the rear end of the other lie in tatters on that tiny lame-potholed-less-than-seven-feet-wide road. I see it one more time as I walk away towards the next bus stop with rain drops sprinkling from the heavens above ....
On a humid Tuesday night, I leave office at the end of my shift only to go down to the parking and find out that my bike has a flat tyre. Well .. putting the disappointment of not being able to zoot off home on my bike after the end of a long I walk up to the main gate of the premises. 15 mins and no BMTC bus in sight, I begin to entertain thoughts of taking an auto all the way home .. which would have costed me a fortune considering it was already past 9 pm. Usually Bangalore auto drivers start charging double just about after dusk. Thankfully, a 201 G bus arrives to break my thought chain and I get into it.
The usual conductor asking me to go towards the rear end and then scribbling the change he is supposed to give me on the back on the ticket ensues. Most of the standing population of the bus get down just a stop from where I got in and I am pleasantly surprised at my luck. Last time I used the public transport unavoidably was more than a year ago. I had stood all the way from office to home on that journey. I get a seat and am contemplating talking to my wife, who is in a Shreya Ghoshal concert at the BGU with my folks in tow. Several attempts to dial her number are in vain due to the obvious network congestion. Meanwhile, the bus driver changes gears mentally and almost dashes into another BMTC bus taking a turn at the Madiwala market road. It comes across as strange that this guy should sulk at not being able to overtake the other bus .. but he conveniently forgets he is driving a bus packed with around 40 people. He floors the throttle pedal and on that lame-potholed-less-than-seven-feet-wide road as he drives recklessly behind the bus he tried to overtake. I get a sense of deja vu and ...... THUD .. CRASH .. BOOM. A girl has gone crashing towards the front door of the bus while all others have either fallen down or are displaced like electrons of a metal being heating. While no one suffered any major injuries .. most of us did hurt ourselves in one way of the other. I jammed my left knee into the rear end of the seat in front of me while controlling myself from hitting my temple against the seat.
Most of the people who are already getting late alight and start moving towards the nearest bus stop. I walk to the front of the bus and strike a conversation with the driver.
Me: Why did you have to drive like that?
Him: Don't say anything to me .. ask him why did he apply brakes first? Pointing towards the bus in the front.
Me: *Beep* *Cuss word* Is this your father's vehicle, that you drive around recklessly. *Cuss word* *Cuss word* who the h*** gave you a licence to drive on the roads you maniac? Do you have anyone at home or .... *Cuss word*
The conductor now tries to pacify me and asks me to get down .. I in turn patiently ask him to give me the change he is due, to me. He stares at me thinking what kind of an idiot am I to ask him for change in such a situation.
Conductor: Do you have any brains, how can you ask me for change in a situation like this?
Me: You think am foolish enough to pay for shoddy, abysmal, erratic and third grade service like this? Out with my change .. you ... *Cuss word*
I don't feel the slightest remorse of having collected my petty change from that guy as I get down.
The front of our bus and the rear end of the other lie in tatters on that tiny lame-potholed-less-than-seven-feet-wide road. I see it one more time as I walk away towards the next bus stop with rain drops sprinkling from the heavens above ....
Well..., it happens sometimes.., Most of the BMTC drivers are well trained and they undergo very very rigourous test before they get their licence..,but there are prominent few like the ones in ur post..., i guess it's to strike a balance between the good and the evil.
ReplyDeleteVikku .. I have my doubts of them being well trained. I have written in a few of my earlier posts too, I am yet to see a BMTC bus voluntarily stop at a Red light. They stop only if they do not have space to maneuver their bus in the available space. I face their honking when I stop at a red light. Inevitably an argument happens between me and the driver where choicest of more cuss words are exchanged before he makes a dash with about 40 seconds still left on the timer.
DeleteThey are trained, but, they will be in tremendous pressure to complete the daily trips or targets. But, they should also take care of other people who will be using the same roads and BMTC services. I have complained several times regarding rash behavior and driving... But BMTC officials are not moved..
ReplyDeleteI empathize with them having to complete their targets and all .. but if he has a bus on his last trip for the day .. all I ask is for the drivers just to be careful enough. Why drive rash, hit some one else and then spend more time in explaining it to the police and your superiors?
DeleteProud of you trying to take a bus. You will fondly remember Pune buses I hope. I have sat in 2 of them in my whole life and it was like sitting inside Amrish Puri's throat. Well written. Good job of taking your change.
ReplyDeleteI had no other choice bro. Auto guys were demanding Rs 300 - 350/- "only" for a 16 km trip.
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