Who dare climbs!!

Jack and Jill climbed up the back of a bus

To fetch transport to their nearest way…..

Jack fell down and got mowed down and

Jill came tumbling after……..

As I drive everyday on Delhi roads, the past week I have come across numerous buses loaded more from the outside then inside. You skip a beat as the bus stops close by and you pray a flying human does not fall on your car bumper. Imagine a thin wooden plank being treaded by an elephant. So is the case with numerous Delhites fighting for their much coveted place in their daily mode of transport by holding to back rails and windows of the bus. Delhi buses create a model of efficiency and inefficiency at the same time. Efficiency in terms of the carrying more loads than practically and otherwise possible as we learnt in Engineering. In-efficiency in terms of being a reason for so many deaths. Whatever said and done I feel distressed seeing people in this horrendous situation where they are testing their endurance, patience and most importantly luck. Its ones luck to be blessed by means of having a good family and to be distant from all these daily hurdles and to just trash these daily incidents and ordeals of people as unwanted nuisance. But an eye-opener if you subjected to the same.

It’s saddening to see Delhi depend and suffer due to a single mode of transport, i.e blue line buses. It’s a catch 22 situation. You hate them but cannot live without them. At one point you have the blue-lines who the media and spate of accidents have branded a killer on road while on the other hand support to aid a substantial part of the Delhi populace for essential daily transport. The Delhi govt plays a populist move and snap the city transport goes for a toss. There needs to be solution than a postponement and escapist solution. At the end of the day it’s the lower income groups which are suffering even more as the autos have started to fleece the customer’s inspite of the recent rate hike. Also the DTC is on way to overcharge customers a common rate for transport on a particular route irrespective of the point at which you get in.

I think certain steps can go a long way in improving the situation:

1. There should be a fleet of certified and trained drivers by a government institute for both DTC and blue lines
2. A compulsory monthly certified free checkup of the condition of the vehicle will go a long way in improving the condition of the fleet and the quality of travel.
3. An incentive based pay structure which is directly proportional to the lesser number of rules, laws and compulsory clauses that one breaks. This would reduce any competition amongst buses on similar routes which might reduce over speeding.
4. As a matter of fact the maximum accident deaths in Delhi happen on account of 2 wheeler deaths. This means bus related accidents affect 2 wheelers the most.
5. This calls for focus on 2 wheeler driving and safety more than just rash bus driving.
6. The HCBS(high capacity bus service and spreading Metro link might soothe the confusion too

I hope he coming days see’s the situation improving and especially for people who wait in this muggy weather fighting and jostling for space in these buses and hanging to the perilous edge.

I