Thrifty BMTC puts public to inconvenience

Thrifty BMTC puts public to inconvenience

Anil Kumar Sastry

Many BMTC buses ply without conductors on board

# Most of one-man buses are premium service buses
# They also block traffic at bus stops



VIOLATION? In many buses, the driver doubles up as the conductor. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Is the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), in its zeal to minimise costs, putting the public to inconvenience besides violating the law?

The answer could be "yes" with many BMTC buses plying without conductors on board even as their drivers perform dual role. While the corporation claims such services to be an additional facility, commuters, road users and the drivers-cum-conductors are being put to hardship.

Most of these one-man buses are premium service (Pushpak) buses in which the fare is high. At times, the corporation also operates ordinary buses as one-man service.

Consider this instance. M. Rajashekhara Reddy, a commuter, was waiting for a bus towards Marathahalli at the Corporation bus stop. A Pushpak bus arrived and without minding the extra cost involved, Mr. Reddy boarded it expecting better service. Too bad for him: he could not get a seat and had to remain standing as the driver-cum-conductor was busy issuing tickets and verifying passes. This went on for about five minutes till he went back to the wheel. However, Mr. Reddy had to endure this over eight stops even as he haplessly watched the other buses on his route (manned by separate drivers and conductors) zipping by. The journey, which should have taken a maximum of 45 minutes, took an hour and 15 minutes.

If this was the ordeal of Mr. Reddy, road users have other grouses. At every stop where one-man buses stop for minutes together, the vehicles behind either pile up or move slowly, creating traffic snarls.

Matters are not easy for the driver-cum-conductor either who is usually stressed by his double duty. He not only has to issue tickets or daily passes but also return the change and enter the trip sheet besides keeping up with the schedule. Choosing to be anonymous, a driver said the additional payment he receives is negligible when compared to the stress he undergoes.

The corporation does not see it that way. A senior official told The Hindu that such buses are hired to companies and factories and those deployed on regular routes for the benefit of public are not on factory duty. He described them as "additional services." However, one can see t one-man buses plying on different routes on a regular basis.

BMTC has around 250 buses deployed for factory duty and the corporation began operating them a couple of years ago. It has around 8,000 drivers, 6,000 conductors and 4,000 drivers-cum-conductors.

A senior official of the transport department said BMTC buses too come under the definition of "stage carriage" (route buses), and like others, they should have conductors. It is the conductor's duty to collect fare, issue tickets and monitor passenger safety. Only in exceptional circumstances can a driver perform the dual role as per the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules. And, he added, the exception cannot be made a rule.