Autos and buses ruled the day

Autos and buses ruled the day

Many preferred to park their personal vehicles in garage

Sudipa Chakraborty. Bangalore
The public transport system has always been a source of annoyance for Bangaloreans. While the autos are blamed for fleecing the commuters, the buses—which are almost always overcrowded—are hardly a comfortable ride.
But on Friday, with the fuel crisis hitting the city badly, most people preferred to garage their vehicles at home, opting instead for the much disliked public transports.
For 24-year-old marketing executive Mallhari HS, the past two days have been extremely frustrating. With no petrol in his bike, Malhari did not take out his bike on Friday. "My colleague dropped me to office," he said.
Software engineer Sukant Chakraborty availed the Volvo bus to reach office. "I walked down to the bus stand and took a Volvo bus to office," he said. His bike ran out of petrol on Thursday night. After rushing to a couple of petrol bunks in the morning, he gave up. "I was too tired at the end of it all. The nearest bus stand is about two kilometers away from my house. So, I decided to take the bus. The bus was extremely overcrowded, but I had no choice. It is ok for one day, but I can't go on like this for long. I cannot depend on BMTC buses for my regular errands," he added.
Some people were scared to take their private vehicles, fearing the possibility of getting stranded midway. Dinesh M Chawla, manager (operations) with a media house in Bangalore preferred to stay indoors and work from home.
"I had little petrol left in my car to run for another day. But, I was too scared to take it out. What if it ran out of stock in the middle of the chaotic Bangalore traffic? Such a situation is dreadful. Instead, it seemed a better option to stay back and work from home. But, I do not know as to what I will do today," he said.
Jishnu C, a deputy manager with a private bank has been travelling in autos for the past two days. "I love my bullet. But it is better to travel in auto than to push my vehicle in the middle of the road. As long as the strike continues, I will continue to travel in autos," he said.