Tin Boxes and Red Monsters

Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal First up, let me state that I treat myself like a princess when it comes to commuting. While buses are probably the first choice of transport for most folks in the city, I am yet to make my peace with it. And I have tried, honestly! And at the end of each bus journey, I am put off buses for a couple of months. A couple of days back, a friend was talking about how much she enjoyed the me-time on her commute home from Jakkasandra to Malleswaram and how she manages to get a good amount…

Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal First up, let me state that I treat myself like a princess when it comes to commuting. While buses are probably the first choice of transport for most folks in the city, I am yet to make my peace with it. And I have tried, honestly! And at the end of each bus journey, I am put off buses for a couple of months. A couple of days back, a friend was talking about how much she enjoyed the me-time on her commute home from Jakkasandra to Malleswaram and how she manages to get a good amount…

When you generally have the same routine and wait patiently, and hopelessly for the same bus every day, you tend to know all the buses that pass through at that time. You tend to form patterns that, if nothing else, give you hope. There are also enough versions of BMTC red Volvos for you to look out for specific ones. My usual routine is to wait one stop before the Sarjapura Road junction for the 500K at around 4 pm. Around this time, you are greeted by a steady procession of 500Ds and 500NAs headed towards Silk Board and 500Cs…

When you generally have the same routine and wait patiently, and hopelessly for the same bus every day, you tend to know all the buses that pass through at that time. You tend to form patterns that, if nothing else, give you hope. There are also enough versions of BMTC red Volvos for you to look out for specific ones. My usual routine is to wait one stop before the Sarjapura Road junction for the 500K at around 4 pm. Around this time, you are greeted by a steady procession of 500Ds and 500NAs headed towards Silk Board and 500Cs…

A few days back BMTC Volvo crew went on a flash strike, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, against a new rule scrapping overtime when they fail to meet a target for the number of trips per day. They cited bad traffic and road conditions for not being able to meet those targets consistently. When we look at it from a more sympathetic perspective, BMTC crew and Traffic police personnel do bear most of the brunt from fast-crumbling roads and the rains which have added an all new dimension to an already overcrowded, grid-locked city. Given these conditions and the need to…

A few days back BMTC Volvo crew went on a flash strike, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, against a new rule scrapping overtime when they fail to meet a target for the number of trips per day. They cited bad traffic and road conditions for not being able to meet those targets consistently. When we look at it from a more sympathetic perspective, BMTC crew and Traffic police personnel do bear most of the brunt from fast-crumbling roads and the rains which have added an all new dimension to an already overcrowded, grid-locked city. Given these conditions and the need to…

Having exact change is the best way to avoid clashes with conductors. Pic: Shree D N She steps into a BMTC bus in some part of Bangalore; asks for ticket, paying Rs.100; conductor says he doesn't have change. Argument over change turns ugly, as she doesn't understand what the conductor is speaking in Kannada. Not able to control her anger, she slaps him. Result: She ends up in judicial custody, for assaulting the conductor. (Src: Bangalore Mirror) What Swati faced is a historical problem in buses everywhere in India - not just Bangalore. Bus conductors usually don't have change; some…

Having exact change is the best way to avoid clashes with conductors. Pic: Shree D N She steps into a BMTC bus in some part of Bangalore; asks for ticket, paying Rs.100; conductor says he doesn't have change. Argument over change turns ugly, as she doesn't understand what the conductor is speaking in Kannada. Not able to control her anger, she slaps him. Result: She ends up in judicial custody, for assaulting the conductor. (Src: Bangalore Mirror) What Swati faced is a historical problem in buses everywhere in India - not just Bangalore. Bus conductors usually don't have change; some…

"Please, please, mera change vaapas keejiye, please sir." She was in her thirties, nicely dressed in a blue churidhar with a gold-ish lining, spectacled, and worried.Furiously issuing tickets, the uniformed BMTC person she was pleading with was in the far upper corner of my favourite red monster 500 C. The bus had already stopped at  Marathahalli and departed. She panicked that she had not gotten her change back and had missed her stop.This conductor, middle-aged, spectacled, unusually chubby-cheeked, had not even heard a word of her plea. One of us fellow passengers called out to him. In the meantime he…

"Please, please, mera change vaapas keejiye, please sir." She was in her thirties, nicely dressed in a blue churidhar with a gold-ish lining, spectacled, and worried.Furiously issuing tickets, the uniformed BMTC person she was pleading with was in the far upper corner of my favourite red monster 500 C. The bus had already stopped at  Marathahalli and departed. She panicked that she had not gotten her change back and had missed her stop.This conductor, middle-aged, spectacled, unusually chubby-cheeked, had not even heard a word of her plea. One of us fellow passengers called out to him. In the meantime he…