COMMENTS

Extracts from Sunday TOI, Bangalore edition (dt 15th June, '08)

1) A 55-year-old man was fatally knocked down by a BMTC bus in Rajajinagar traffic police limits. P Maadhu, who stayed in Sheshadripuram, was standing in the bus station on Ram Mandir Road at 11.45 am, when an overspeeding BMTC bus (Number 50) rammed into the station. He was severely injured and rushed to hospital. The mechanic-turned businessman succumbed at 7.15 pm at another hospital.

2) Tension prevailed in KR Puram on Saturday evening, after a BMTC bus ran over one and-a-half-year-old Sowmya. Irate public pelted the bus with stones and damaged it. Police said Sowmya was walking with her parents when the accident took place. The bus (Route No. 307-A), plying between Majestic and Mayasandra, came on the wrong side and crushed the child under its wheels. When the crowd started throwing stones, the driver jumped out and fled.

Muralidhar Rao

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After a lot of debate, largely through e-mails, the members of a Google-group decided that they will push for the idea of competition in public bus transport services. The text of the mails are given below:

Mr M (who is generally opposed to the idea) wrote:

Dear Murali,

Certainly. Competition in bus transport would be a good thing. Only we need to, if we could, ensure that the experience of the Blue Line Killers of Delhi is not repeated here. I hope you, and others here, know the reason for the reputation of Blue Line. Almost all private bus operators follow similar devices in their management of these "efficient" services. Their management invariably adheres to the simple profit strategy of "cutting corners". Their drivers do so literally! Take any Govt bus operator, especially on long distance travel. The crew would be changed every two or four hours. The relief crew come in at intermediate stations and the relieved crew gets off. In the case of private bus operators, if at all the crew is changed, the relief crew would be ones that have traveled in the same bus all along. The relieved crew continues after the other crew takes over. The private operator's crews have very little testing or training and sometimes not even a driving license.

All Govt buses would have speed governors. If at all these are fitted on private buses, at the time of inspection or certification, they would immediately thereafter be disabled. This is perhaps one reason why the private buses run "on time".

Another efficient practice of private operators is to over book and sometimes the extra passenger, who unfortunately turns up, travels sitting on the bonnet! [Even private Airlines operators, a la Deccan Air variety, are not averse to such efficiency. They offload the extra passenger, because there is no bonnet next to the pilot!]

They [private bus crew] are paid on the basis of income earned. Hence, they have an incentive for overloading, speeding, carrying parcels [legal and illegal] on the roof and in the boot and wherever else it is possible to load. Go to God's Own Country for a living example of the efficacy of these incentives.

Usually all private bus operators are either politicians, or their family or henchmen, above the law and law unto themselves. No wonder they are profitable and "efficient".

Great to have this competition. And why not? After all not everyone is happy with BMTC / KSRTC service levels and efficiency.

Go ahead Murali and all those who wish to have this "competition" to make bus service "efficient". Enjoy the "efficiency" - from a distance, since none of us, if we could help it, would travel by these killer vehicles!

GR's response:

Dear Mr M

I agree with you fully that 'Blueline' buses have got a bad name and they are 'Killer buses'.

But do you know that some 10 years back, the BMTC buses in Bangalore were sporting a RED colour and this colour was changed to BLUE and the reason quoted was that RED BMTC buses have got a bad name for being rashly driven and that they have earned notoriety. So, the BMTC wanted a change in colour so that it 'Looks' friendly. If we file a RTI, we will know the statistics related to the number of accidents that these BMTC buses were involved in each year. The BMTC unions are quite powerful and the Drivers don't care!The difference between Govt. buses and private buses in terms of rash driving is that Govt. buses are probably not as rashly driven as private Blue liners but will never get the pass marks. The blueliners are driven rashly for making more profits by increasing the number of trips whereas, Govt. buses are rashly driven because the Drivers get some entertainment out of it. Being a commuter myself, I have seen buses of the same number racing against each other to reach the destination faster. They skip stops, inconvenience passengers, intimidate fellow road users all for that entertainment that they get in the onroad race. Blueliners are as over-crowded as BMTC buses! Except that the crew in Blueline is far more courteous than BMTC crew. I have travelled in private buses too and I know the difference. The BMTC crew is very rude at times. They want to reach their destination as fast as possible and finish their duty [Afterall, they are govt. employees]. Corruption is rampant in BMTC right from ticketing to purchase of tyres and spare parts. You will not find this in private buses. In the 1970s,1980s and 1990s, the BTS which was the earlier nomenclature of the present BMTC was notorious for inefficiency, corruption, rash driving, and above all, snap strikes. The BTS was completely unionised and their USP during snap strikes was to park buses haphazardly on main roads and block all roads!

Let me give you an example to support privatisation of public transport. In Hubli-Dharwad, some 2-3 years back, a private operator by name 'Bendre Sarige' started operations. Till then, only Govt. buses were plying and they didn't have any accountability. The unions protested but somehow, it didn't have much effect. Today, these same Govt. buses are run more efficiently. The crew is more courteous than before.

A deep analysis of the traffic probem in Bangalore today and the growth of two-wheelers will lead us to the poor public transport system and the fact that it is a monopoly. I doubt whether we would have so many two-wheelers had the public transport been free from monopoly.

The answer lies in a strong consumer movement and allowing both private as well as Govt. sectors in the fray to compete and thus freeing public transport from the clutches of this monopoly.

Mr M counters:

Both are equally bad. Only Blue Line is perhaps a shade worse if one were to go by the reputation they have where even the Delhi High Court had to intervene and ask the Govt to take some steps to reign them in!


Mr TV adds:

Rash driving is not a domain area for private or public . Many were killed by rash driving of BMTC drivers too. Privatise and have a regulatory body with norms to be followed. If not cancel the licenese. Can we regulate the Govt guys. You punish one for violation they go on strike. They go to labour court which is expected to favour emloyees as the employer does not put it's case properly, who cares if an employee is suspended. He will come back to work after few years with back wages and may be promoted too for his misdeeds!!

Having worked in PSU I had seen many such cases. An employee who joins as a workman without any qualification ( for a lower category work) becomes a union leader, starts bossing over the Management. If the Management is weak ( trying to get favours from Political leadership as these leaders are connected with them ) the Company goes to dogs. History proves. If the Management is strong such leaders will go on strike and Political leadership supports the union, invariably . Anyway things have changed a lot for better.


I add:

The blue-line problem was clearly identified as resulting out of Delhi government's license-permit raaj, and has apparently been corrected to some extent. It was precisely as a learning from the Delhi blue-line experience that the UP government, in its privatisation programme, has decided to allow only participants with a minimum fleet strength of 4000 buses - perhaps going a bit too far, in my opinion. More on this can be accessed at
http://praja.in/bangalore/blog/murali772/2008/05/14/road-prosperity.

Muralidhar Rao

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What is appalling is the absolute silence from BMTC's end.  There is not even a hint of remorse or a statement that things will change, etc.  In each of these cases, the driver should be charged with culpable homicide and be put behind bars for 10 years.  A bus has no business speeding anywhere let alone near a bus stop. 

BEST drivers drive in the same sort of conditions.  But you will rarely see them race each other or drive in the middle of the road.  BMTC drivers do it as they get away with it each time. 

Srivathsa

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As to the matter of safety, efficiency and customer-friendliness of inter-state bus services (that Mr M had raised, vide posting under 'furthering the debate'), there are the good as well as the bad amongst the private bus operators.

With excellent train services between Bangalore and Chennai, one generally opts for it. Recently, however, a niece of mine had to travel down to Bangalore during a week-end, at short notice, and landed up taking day buses both ways. The onward journey was by 'KPN Travels', and her experience was totally satisfactory, with the bus stopping at decent way-side restaurants with clean toilet facilities. The return journey through 'National Travels' was almost a nightmare. I reported the matter to 'REDBUS', the online booking agency, and I expect, they have down-graded National Travels. And, I am sure, these kinds of things will have their impact.

But, as far as BMTC/ KSRTC services are concerned, since their outlook is hardly market-oriented, their responses are also routine, like we saw at http://praja.in/bangalore/blog/murali772/2008/06/01/bus-services-different-approach#comment-5249
Muralidhar Rao

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Murali sir,

Agree with you that some radical change is needed.  Both these accidents were out of pure negligence and not one of those where a motorbike tried to squeeze between the bus and the divider or something like that.

Unless enforcement is improved and offenders are seen to be punished this will carry on.  Before you say "privatization", there is no guarantee that private operators will not do something like this.  If basic law enforcement (driving on the wrong side and by a monster bus) is not in place, then privatization will only add to the hazards.

BMTC is reaching Blueline status.  Can we raise this in our next meeting with the BMTC head?

Regards,

Srivathsa

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