Travel

Travelling woes shaping up

It is quite enjoyable to sit idly and watch time slowly creeping by, hoping it speeds up a little. It is more enjoyable to sit idly in the workplace or a classroom. A lot of us simply love being inactive while important world events like the shooting of Spiderman 3 and global warming progress. So it should be okay when we are sitting in a stationary mode of transport and have nothing to do but watch time go by, right?

Wrong! It is truly annoying when you have to indulge in the same time wasting activities while sitting in some mode of transport. That's because transport is supposed to transport you and not provide you with a temporary place of residence. Traffic jams in our city are a common site. In many cases it is customary to start out on a journey at least one hour in advance. Worse still, if you could or would walk it would take less.

In the past one year the government has taken many steps to ease the flow of traffic. Bus routes have been changed, new routes added and new bus services also introduced. A lot of roads have been made off limits to rickshaws making it very inconvenient for the common people to travel. So has it really helped at all?

The new bus services
When at first rickshaws were banned from particular roads and the two-stroke engine taxis were removed, people had a hard time coping with transportation. Newly introduced CNG run scooters were few. Many people had to wait, tear their hair in desperation or walk for ages in the sun and let the heat burn out their hair. Gradually, many bus services were introduced such as Nirapad, Volvo, Citybus, Premium, Mega City, Green Express, Metro link, etc. These provided designated counters that meant passengers did not have to become acrobats to take a leap at or off a running bus. Clean vehicles run by relatively capable drivers provide a good alternative for the working people, as most of them prefer to use this for their travelling. Long queues in the morning and evenings prove that.

Driver-passenger relation
Dilapidated buses with torn, peeling metal skin like that of a zombie can still be seen plying the streets. But in most cases, the buses are decent looking with most of their paint and body parts intact. This could be because the buses are still new.

Of course, the scene inside with regards to the people is also a reflection of the exterior. At peak hours people still have to hang on to the overhead railings but not to the previous extent where humans resembled bats hanging on for dear life. Most buses prohibit overloading and overcrowding. That way people can breathe air and not someone else's air.

The passengers are generally well educated, mostly being office goers and students. So a certain level of decorum is maintained. But what would life be without its varieties brought about by the dark side? Think of the passengers who wake up late, get on a bus late and then scream at the driver for not driving faster. Cursing is common when a bus driver stops at a traffic light. How dare he fall for a red light! That seems to be the attitude of some people who are constantly looking at their watches.

Some even go as far as to loudly proclaim that they could do a better job at driving. Somehow it is always easier to say than to do. Such silly outbursts become a source of irritation for the general public and is totally unbecoming coming from the mouths of well dressed educated people.

People also cause a ruckus when drivers sometimes stop at unscheduled points for the benefit of particular passengers. Sometimes schools or offices fall before the designated bus counter and the driver stops to let somebody off. But this becomes a major source of irritation for some passengers who act as if the 10-30 seconds lost could have been used to solve world hunger. Live and let live does not seem to be a line heard by them.

The drivers are in control of a huge beast so to speak. A bus has momentum unlike that of any car or other small vehicle. Mohammad Ibrahim, driver of City Bus, explains that it is a very demanding job to safely maneuver such a big vehicle through narrow roads made narrower by surrounding traffic. He has to keep a lookout in all directions to make sure no untoward incident happens.

At times the drivers snap and retort to the passenger's comments. Ibrahim's lament is that drivers like him are usually lesser educated and they are trying to make a living by doing their job properly and most importantly safely. In return they are expecting the passengers to act more civilly when situations are tense.

The lack of roads and the largely ineffective traffic management is making chaos out of the mental state of the people.

The pros and cons
Ask any bus user and there will be a similar opinion that bus rides are safer, easier and more comfortable than before. People no longer have to scramble for the bus entrance, though occasionally there are some who want to cut the queue.

Inside the bus order is maintained as everyone takes his or her place without fuss. Everyone shares seats equally without having to have separately designated seats for women. Waiting time is also relatively short in most cases. Add to that the skillful drivers and the clean buses. Exceptions are there like the broken reclining seats due to enthusiastic reclining and the occasional display of stomach contents due to motion sickness.

What is still a big problem is the shortage of such buses. Most times, there will be long queues as there are very few vehicles compared to the number of passengers. Also the routes still do not cover most of the important zones. Routes like Dhanmondi or Science Lab to Moghbazaar are still out of reach. People have to avail costly CNG scoters or taxi cabs. As for those who live n rickshaw restricted roads availing bus is a long walk.

Job opportunity
The new bus lines have counters at about every two miles. These require maintenance by at least one person who has to take the money, sign the route sheet and check the ticket. These provide employment to people who have low education and do not have the skills for any other kind of job. This type of work is part time and monthly pay amounts to 2500-3000 taka. Shifts are around 7am-1pm, 1pm-6pm and 6pm-10pm.

Then there are the helpers to every driver who don't work in shifts but rather along with the hours of the driver. The drivers calculate in terms of the number of trips and the helpers have to make as many trips as the driver. They earn around 140 taka per day.

Then come the drivers themselves who definitely need to be skilled. As a result age does not matter that much as long as the person can capably handle the rig. They earn 60-70 taka per trip.

Besides these people there are many others behind the scene who oversee the drivers, those who maintain the vehicles, the ticket managers etc.

Mini buses, major hassle
Mini buses are often in a dilapidated shape. Torn seats and dirty interiors are a given. Their small sizes allow faster maneuvering and as a result, drivers often become reckless. Overtaking by crossing from the wrong side is a common occurrence and this causes huge traffic snarl-ups. These are preferred as they usually charge lower fare. But the main roads would be better off with the bigger buses. Not only are these unsightly but they are also dangerous due to driver arrogance.

Overall, the introduction of the bus services has been a benefit to most people. It has allowed people to travel farther, safer, and in more comfort.

By Sultana Yasmin
Translated by Ehsanur Raza Ronny