The ‘laal dabba’

I somehow managed to squeeze myself and get inside. It was 6.30 pm and the the bus was crowded. It was a long day for me and I was returning from college i.e. from Loni (a place 25 mins ahead of Hadapsar).It usually takes me 1 hr 15 mins to reach home but that day I was travelling in the evening, it was pouring outside and the traffic was insane. 

Being a Puneite I have hardly, almost never travelled by a bus before. To get a pack of biscuits from the nearby kirana store I used to go on a scooty. Everyone has their own vehicles and people prefer using it. Pune has seen a mammoth rise in the number of private vehicles, specially 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers in the past few years.The distances are also not very far. But things are changing....

With the city getting crowded, many Institutes, corporate offices and even residential complexes have moved to the outskirts of Pune. And how do you go there everyday? .Either you stay nearby or then go by a car. Travelling by a car everyday is also becoming very hectic because of the chaotic traffic jams and pollution. And what about those people who can’t afford their own vehicles. Considering the auto fares, it is impossible to travel by an auto for such a long distance. Some of these offices do have their own transport system but only a few of them. So now what is the option? ….Public transport.

This prescription of using a public transport to reduce pollution, reduce the number of vehicles on road, make everyday travelling comfortable and convenient for people is already given by many experts, planners and so on, but then why is it that people still don’t prefer using a PMT( Pune Municipal Transport)?

One of my college friend was coming to my place by a PMT. She sat on the left side of the bus reserved for ladies. At the next stop a man came and sat next to her. He was completely drunk and not in his senses. She told the conductor about this man and asked the conductor to make him sit somewhere else. The conductor gave a very cold response to this request and ignored her. The bus was full. She had to spend nearly 1 hr with that drunken person sitting next to her. She gave a sigh of relief when she got out of the bus. It is not only her but most of us give a sign of relief when we get out of the bus.

The public transport in Pune is really bad. Most of the buses are in a bad condition, they are filthy and the frequency is very low compared to the number of people travelling. Yes they have come up with these few AC buses but still the overall condition is bad. To add to this the BRT (Bus rapid transit) in Pune is a big fiasco. One third of a road which is hardly 10 m wide is given to buses. 

It is a vicious circle. Less people travel by bus because it is in a bad condition and the reason for it being in a bad condition is that people prefer using private vehicles and don’ t care about the public transport.

I hope this prescription of good, efficient public transport turns into a medicine,

and I won’t have to name my blog as ‘laal dabba’