Law breakers on the wheel!

Tackling menace

Now that the autorickshaws are way too expensive for the aam janata, more and more people are taking the buses. Yes, the buses may be worth a ride, but their drivers are the source of all problems.

The drivers stop just before the beginning and end of every flyover. Similarly, immediately after the traffic signals, bus stops have been unscientifically constructed and the drivers as usual in a mad rush to outdo each other, stop the buses blocking the entire traffic behind. Not only does it create a traffic jam, a rather long one, but people who get off these buses are at a risk of being hit possibly by a two-wheeler rider struggling to worm his way through the narrow stretch.

Metrolife finds out why buses are allowed to stop as and where they want to and still go scot-free. Also bus bays and bus-shelters lie unused and no buses stop at these bays nor do the drivers use the lane, especially designed for them.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has launched a couple of initiatives to educate the BMTC drivers on road safety. The authorities who have chalked out these plans say that in addition to educating the BMTC drivers on road safety, commuters need to be disciplined.  

J Arun Chakravarthy, Director Security, Vigilance and Environment (BMTC) says efforts are being made to educate the drivers to stop at bus stops. “The traffic enforcement week is on and those drivers who are off the shift are stationed at various bus- shelters and bus bays across the City just to ensure that the buses stop at the designated stop and not farther off,” Arun told Metrolife.

This has started working but it will be a while before drivers actually begin to stop at designated stops. 

Arun also points out that most people never use the bus- shelters and stand away from it, forcing the bus to stop somewhere else. There are in all 687 bus shelters and about 35 bus bays in the City. 

Buses stopping at the beginning and end of every flyover is another problem. Some of the bus bays have been constructed immediately before or after the flyovers, where the buses stop blocking the traffic. Arun says he wasn’t aware of buses stopping at the beginning of every flyover causing a huge traffic jam.

 “I am not aware of such a problem. The drivers are warned and fined for the offences they commit,” he says. About bus bays, Arun finds the basic fault in the design. “Buses are supposed to slip in and slip out with ease. That’s not happening here. The uneven terrain makes it tough,” he reasons.

Additional Commissioner of Traffic and Safety Praveen Sood says buses are forced to stop at flyovers because the passengers pressurise the driver to stop at such spots.    
Commuters wonder why bus stops are located just after a flyover. Shoaib, a quality analyst says, “It’s pretty dangerous when bus stops are located just after a flyover and it’s very difficult to overtake. The BMTC drivers don’t care about two-wheeler riders. They stop right at the end of the flyover blocking almost half the road.” Mathew Thomas, a hotelier, is miffed that buses stop abruptly at flyovers.

 “It not only causes a traffic jam but proves dangerous if the vehicle behind the bus is overspeeding. Also, bus stops located just after flyovers are a menace,” he says.