Of mob fury and torched buses

Of mob fury and torched buses
Deccan Herald

Hike in fuel price, a ‘bad’ budget, deprivation of perks at some government offices, fatal accidents, death of a patient due to ‘medical negligence’, a religious procession turning haywire - the list of provocations that trigger vandalism is endless. But each time, the victim is the same - a public transport vehicle.

Tuesday’s accident, which claimed two lives and injured more than 25 unsuspecting victims, was no different. While the loss of human lives was irreplaceable, the misplaced anger of the ‘mob’ resulted in torching of the Volvo bus.

In the last seven years, at least 1,320 buses have fallen prey to the mob fury. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has incurred a loss of Rs 536 lakh, owing to minor and major damage caused to these buses.


“The public outcry is taking extreme forms. One fails to realise that it is again the Common Man who will face the brunt of such loss of public transport vehicles,” rue transport officials.

Despite having a fleet of 4,400 ordinary buses and 25 Volvo luxury buses, the demand for additional routes and buses is growing tremendously. While, mounting revenue loss due to damages, maintenance cost is likely to translate into higher fares, reason officials.

“The number of schedules has been increased from 2,535 in 2001 to 3,957 in 2005. We still need to add 400 more each year. Moreover, nearly 200-odd buses are phased out annually once they cross the 7.5-lakh-km mark. The Corporation is also forced to run high tariff luxury buses, solitary trips to rural areas which may run under loss for the first few years,” explained a senior officer.

The increasing attack on the buses, mindless of the criminal waste of respurces is raising apprehensions over investing on expensive buses, say sources.

“A Volvo bus costs about Rs 74 lakhs, while an ordinary bus costs up to Rs 14 lakh. Though, we are equally daunted by the incident and are convinced that

drivers need to be made more accountable, we cannot discount the fact that the property loss could have been averted,” said an official.