People taken for the ride - Do we have a solution?
I wanted to write on this for a long time now. The plight of ordinary people who depend on bus for their commutation. First of all who use the bus facility.
1. Those who can't afford any other mode of transportation. (line between share autos and buses are diminshing)
2. Those who wants to travel long distance and hence don't prefer using personal mode.
Category 2 is small but significant. It is better to sweat it out in the bus rather than die in the traffic. The bus fares used to be fair. So fair that we don't know if it was fare or fair. I certain
ly don't have the data to compare the prices across ages and see if the fare was adjusted to inflation. But if it is not affordable to poor people, then let it not be adjusted.
Bus fares like train fares, vegetable prices, petrol prices posed serious threat to the incumbent government when they faced elections. For all those cynics about democracy, you should note this point. An increase of 50 paise would invite hue and cry all over the state. And rightly so because every poor, every individual who is affected knows this rise is permanent and a literally a one-way ticket. The prices can go up never come down.
Since this is a problem, some brilliant tactician came up with express, deluxe and luxury bus concept. Some peole think this is a good idea. Those who can afford more can travel seperately. Well, lets see its cons.
1. It simply breaks people into economic classes. Again whats wrong. When you start paying for deluxe buses and luxury buses, you alienate yourself with mass and you accept that you don't care about the prices. So you are not part of the effective force which can determine the election outcomes based on the prices.
2. Like any unfair business idea, the buses don't offer what they look like they are going to offer. Express, deluxe, luxury buses are crowded in peak hours like any other LSS bus. By the way, when did you last see a white board bus? Like the sparrows in the city, it has become extinct silently.
3. Most important questions for a consumer. Is it worth? Definetly not. The irony is that express and LSS buses offer more space to stand than the deluxe bus. The luxury kind is way out of league. It may work when you go from terminus to terminus but not for shorter distances. They charge Rs.18 for just 3 stops. Moreover, imagine using those services during rainy days.
4. There would be few people still not convinced. I pay more so that i dont want to travel with poor people. No sir, it doesn't work for you as well. The number of buses that operate during office hours are so less that people are forced to buy expensive fares. So when you step into express, deluxe or luxury bus thinking that you will be alone, you are terribly mistaken.
1. Those who can't afford any other mode of transportation. (line between share autos and buses are diminshing)
2. Those who wants to travel long distance and hence don't prefer using personal mode.
Category 2 is small but significant. It is better to sweat it out in the bus rather than die in the traffic. The bus fares used to be fair. So fair that we don't know if it was fare or fair. I certain
ly don't have the data to compare the prices across ages and see if the fare was adjusted to inflation. But if it is not affordable to poor people, then let it not be adjusted.Bus fares like train fares, vegetable prices, petrol prices posed serious threat to the incumbent government when they faced elections. For all those cynics about democracy, you should note this point. An increase of 50 paise would invite hue and cry all over the state. And rightly so because every poor, every individual who is affected knows this rise is permanent and a literally a one-way ticket. The prices can go up never come down.
Since this is a problem, some brilliant tactician came up with express, deluxe and luxury bus concept. Some peole think this is a good idea. Those who can afford more can travel seperately. Well, lets see its cons.
1. It simply breaks people into economic classes. Again whats wrong. When you start paying for deluxe buses and luxury buses, you alienate yourself with mass and you accept that you don't care about the prices. So you are not part of the effective force which can determine the election outcomes based on the prices.
2. Like any unfair business idea, the buses don't offer what they look like they are going to offer. Express, deluxe, luxury buses are crowded in peak hours like any other LSS bus. By the way, when did you last see a white board bus? Like the sparrows in the city, it has become extinct silently.
3. Most important questions for a consumer. Is it worth? Definetly not. The irony is that express and LSS buses offer more space to stand than the deluxe bus. The luxury kind is way out of league. It may work when you go from terminus to terminus but not for shorter distances. They charge Rs.18 for just 3 stops. Moreover, imagine using those services during rainy days.
4. There would be few people still not convinced. I pay more so that i dont want to travel with poor people. No sir, it doesn't work for you as well. The number of buses that operate during office hours are so less that people are forced to buy expensive fares. So when you step into express, deluxe or luxury bus thinking that you will be alone, you are terribly mistaken.
posted by Ramkumar @ 4:17 PM
3 Comments
