When citizens mattered

Passengers on a Bengaluru-Chennai bus unite in their demand and get a better bus. A citizen report by Prasanna Venkatesan.

I was to board the KSRTC Meghadoota service to Chennai on 27th November 2008 at the Shanthinagar bus stand in Bangalore. The bus that was scheduled to start at 10.17 PM, did not arrive at the bus stop till 11 PM. The bus that managed to arrive so late from the depot had mechanical problems.

The driver reported that the bus could not pick up speed and possibly not go beyond third gear. Apart from this, the bus also had very bad air conditioning, which added to the frustration and fury of the passengers.

The angry passengers demanded that the conductor give it in writing about the condition of the bus and also regarding the late arrival, so that action could be taken against the concerned through the Consumer Court. The conductor, who was not ready to do so, directed the driver to drive the bus back to Majestic bus stand.

It was 12:00 AM by now, and the passengers were stranded at the main bus stand.

While the depot manager, the only living creature at the Majestic bus stand at that hour, managed to approve the use of a higher class service bus for this journey, another problem reared its head- the driver had no experience of driving a Volvo bus. Hence the driver had to have a practice session at the bus stand. The driver, who was ecstatic about handling a new Volvo, confidently agreed to drive us to Chennai.

Thus, that day the passengers united for a common cause, and proved that a voice raised by all of us together can jolt the officials into action and force them to provide better services to the public.

Comments:

  1. Deepa Mohan says:

    Good job Prasanna! I am glad you flexed your collective muscles and got some positive results.

    Though I would have been worried about a bus all the way to Chennai with an inexperienced driver….! 🙂

  2. Sri Guru says:

    when middle class indians are pushed to their limits they come together and act.

    why not remove the political parties that are doing dynasty rules and keeping our money in Swiss banks? remove all politicians so that sincere people will come and repair india

  3. Aswin S says:

    This reiterates my view on Human collaboration. “Only during a crisis that directly affects them do people unite.”

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