Bus arrives at the stop. Passengers gets into the bus through the front door. Puts the money in the ‘cash machine’. Driver issues a ticket. There are hardly 10 people in the bus. They hear a voice “Thank you for choosing Gardenia Bus Service to bus travel”.
Now a bus stop is approaching. The bus stop name flashes on the display which can be seen by all passengers. Simultaneously there is an English announcement telling “We are approaching Western Avenue….Norborne School”. This is followed by Spanish announcement “Labra sima parara…”.People who wants to get down at that stop pulls the wire which makes a sound & triggers a light in front of driver. Bus stops & passengers get down. Driver won’t forget to say ‘Have a good day!”. Passengers often say “Take Care” to driver.
This is the local transport bus here...
Efficient, relaxed & very well connected.Often I think that the government is running these buses irrespective of losses! Please bare with me for this "bus puraana" for a while:)
Lets talk of bus tickets..
Ticketing system here is extremely good with absolutely zero leakage. As soon as you board bus, you have to put the coins or the note in the machine which counts & after the amount is flashed, driver gives the ticket. If you want to get down at some stop & take another bus, there is an option of special ticket called ‘transfer’ ticket. Transfer ticket indicates the direction & time for which the ticket is valid. As usual there is a daily pass which is for unlimited travel in any direction & time. There is no concept of ‘change’ in the bus. You should have correct change. If you have put the extra amount, the machine won’t give you back any change.
Lets talk of bus tickets..
Ticketing system here is extremely good with absolutely zero leakage. As soon as you board bus, you have to put the coins or the note in the machine which counts & after the amount is flashed, driver gives the ticket. If you want to get down at some stop & take another bus, there is an option of special ticket called ‘transfer’ ticket. Transfer ticket indicates the direction & time for which the ticket is valid. As usual there is a daily pass which is for unlimited travel in any direction & time. There is no concept of ‘change’ in the bus. You should have correct change. If you have put the extra amount, the machine won’t give you back any change.
Special care for handi-capped...
It is heartening to see special attention given to handi-capped. Whenever there is any wheel-chair person at the stop, the bus door which is at little height than the platform is lowered. A metal platform extends from bus , on which the wheel chair is rolled .Once the wheel chair is in, the driver puts the belt across the person. Till all this is over, everybody patiently waits.
Talking of the bus drivers..
Most of them are very courteous. They always smile, wish & sometimes even joke. They dress smartly too with all goggles, jackets & gloves. Half of the drivers are ladies. One particular lady driver (She had a very long nails & golden color hair) in our route had become very familiar that she is used to ask next day why we didn’t come one day!
While talking of buses and bus service here, suddenly namma BMTC bus comes into mind…
It is heartening to see special attention given to handi-capped. Whenever there is any wheel-chair person at the stop, the bus door which is at little height than the platform is lowered. A metal platform extends from bus , on which the wheel chair is rolled .Once the wheel chair is in, the driver puts the belt across the person. Till all this is over, everybody patiently waits.
Talking of the bus drivers..
Most of them are very courteous. They always smile, wish & sometimes even joke. They dress smartly too with all goggles, jackets & gloves. Half of the drivers are ladies. One particular lady driver (She had a very long nails & golden color hair) in our route had become very familiar that she is used to ask next day why we didn’t come one day!
While talking of buses and bus service here, suddenly namma BMTC bus comes into mind…
A typical day in BMTC bus...
BMTC bus arrives totally packed, number of people hanging out are more than the number inside. Passengers tries to get into the bus. Few lucky & strong ones get into. Few men tries to sneak through the front door of bus meant for ladies. Gets scolded by driver, conductor, ladies & other ‘true’ men. Somehow manages to be in the bus.The conductor moves like a snake making way in the forest of people. He asks in the trademark style “Yelligrii? Chilrey kodrii..illa andhre ilkollri”. He starts cursing each and everyone.Writes the change on the back of ticket which most of the time, we forget to collect. With great difficult, we get down & a breath a sigh of relief…
It took few days to digest these two ends of spectrum.
BMTC bus arrives totally packed, number of people hanging out are more than the number inside. Passengers tries to get into the bus. Few lucky & strong ones get into. Few men tries to sneak through the front door of bus meant for ladies. Gets scolded by driver, conductor, ladies & other ‘true’ men. Somehow manages to be in the bus.The conductor moves like a snake making way in the forest of people. He asks in the trademark style “Yelligrii? Chilrey kodrii..illa andhre ilkollri”. He starts cursing each and everyone.Writes the change on the back of ticket which most of the time, we forget to collect. With great difficult, we get down & a breath a sigh of relief…
It took few days to digest these two ends of spectrum.
I know it is not fair to compare the two systems. BMTC is doing fair job considering all the limits.But couldn’t help dreaming when our buses will be like here & when our drivers will be courteous like this.
Having said all these things….
That bus crowd, those rude conductors, those pity fights in bus, and those adventures to get in/out the bus…. there is nothing like these things.. because after all it is “Namma Bengalru”!
Initial few days I traveled in public transport bus. Now travel by bus has reduced as commuting to office is done in my colleague’s car. But now & then I travel in bus as I simply love to travel in bus....be it in Bangalore or Torrance.
Before ending my bus episode, a thought which I always think when I see bus..
Isn’t bus similar to life….
People travelling together often become very close with each other . We get into a false impression that they will be there with us till the end of journey, only to realize that they had got down at some other stop.
Some other people gets into the bus..they get down...
But the bus journey continues just like life….
1 comment:
ಬಸ್ ಪುರಾಣ ಬಹಳ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೀರ. ನಿಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ಬಸ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ರಷ್ ಇರೋಲ್ಲಾಂದ್ರೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಜಾನೇ ಬರೋಲ್ಲ. ನನಗೆ ಬೆವರು ವಾಸನೆ ಕುಡಿಯೋದು, ತಳ್ಳೋದು, ಎಳೆಯೋದು, ಜಗಳ ಆಡೋದು, ಇವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಇಲ್ದೇ ಇದ್ರೆ ಏನೋ ಮಂಕು ಹಿಡಿದ ಹಾಗಾಗತ್ತೆ.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಬಸ್ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾ? ನಮ್ಮ ಕೆಲವು ಜನಗಳು, ನಮ್ಮ ಏರಿಯಾ ಆದ ಪುಟ್ಟೇನಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತಿ ಕಂಡಕ್ಟರ್ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಬಂದಾಗ ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಟಿಕೆಟ್ ಕೇಳ್ತಾರೆ - ಆಗ ಅವನು ಈ ಬಸ್ ಹೋಗೋಲ್ಲ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ಮುಂದಿನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಳಿಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಬಸ್ಗೆ ಹತ್ತೋದು. ಹೀಗೆ ಮೆಜೆಸ್ಟಿಕ್ವರೆವಿಗೆ ಹೋಗೋರೂ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೇಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ನೋಡೋಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾ? ಮೇರಾ ಭಾರತ್ ಮಹಾನ್!
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