The lack of public transport options post 11 p.m. has given rise to the private cab and tempo mafia. Most often, these are not authorised to take passengers and lure them by offering to drop them at their destination. However, the danger is that there is no way of keeping a check on these vehicles.
If your job finishes after 10 p.m., getting home is always a tense experience. “I work on the Outer Ring Road where only a few buses can be seen post 9 p.m. On days when we work late, office cabs are perhaps the safest solution as buses are very few and far apart. Standing at the bus stand is also dangerous,” says Rajarshi B., who works near Bellandur.
As buses begin to thin out, cabs and tempo travellers roam the streets soliciting passengers. They are so well-entrenched that they accost passengers arriving in interstate buses right opposite Madivala police station.
“There is usually a check-post at the junction. But bus drivers drop us before the police station. The auto drivers parked there demand exorbitant fares. The only option left is these vehicles since buses are almost never available post midnight,” said Yusuf Raja, who often boards buses to Chennai from Madivala.
In spite of several instances of driver/conductors of such vehicles being involved in mugging, the will to control them seems lacking. On Tuesday, after the gangrape, the Transport Department seized 206 vehicles, but passengers and commuters are more worried about the night.
Ekroop Caur, Managing Director, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, said, “We do operate post 10 p.m. but these are skeletal services owing to low demand. Bus services operate within the city and till areas on the Outer Ring Road,” She pointed out that post 10 p.m., most people who travel have individual arrangements or company transport.
Instances of mugging/robbery
December 2014
Six criminals in a Tempo Traveller abducted and robbed three youths. The driver stopped at Byatarayanapura and asked them for directions. He offered to drop them at their destination. Once inside, the six men snatched cash and phones of the trio who were kicked out in Chandra Layout.
August 2013
Prashanth, a student, was attacked and robbed of Rs. 56,000 by four men in a Tempo Traveller being thrown out near Hebbal flyover around 6 p.m. He had boarded the vehicle near Tin Factory around 4.30 p.m.
August 2013
A 29-year-old businessman was robbed of valuables and Rs. 15.000 at Shivajinagar bus stand around 2.30 a.m. by four men on bikes who attacked him with a sharp weapon.
