It has been a little over a fortnight since Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has deployed its traffic and security personnel to ensure that drivers halt buses at designated stops.
The decision to deploy personnel specially to ensure that buses halt at bus bays was taken following complaints from the public that drivers do not stop buses at designated places.
Patrol vehicles
To complement the traffic and security personnel, patrol vehicles ‘Sarathi', equipped with video cameras, monitor movement of buses across the city.
For long, there have been complaints that BMTC drivers do not halt buses at designated stops and sometimes skip the scheduled halts, causing a lot of inconvenience to commuters.
Seeking to address commuters' grouse, BMTC decided to discipline its drivers by deploying over 100 traffic and security personnel at bus-stands. “Their job is to ensure that buses halt at the designated spot,” an official said.
Crowded bus-stands are now monitored by traffic controllers. The personnel also keep an eye on the drivers. Though most BMTC buses now have pneumatic doors, many drivers have the habit of driving their vehicles without closing the doors. The personnel in Sarathis monitor buses on the move. They check whether the doors of buses are closed and if drivers are using mobile phones while driving, according to a senior BMTC official.
Welcomed
This initiative has come in for praise from commuters. Prasanna, who was waiting for a bus at Balekundri Circle, said he could see a marked difference in the attitude of the drivers after BMTC deployed personnel to monitor movement of buses.
Manjunath, a private company employee, said it was not that all BMTC crew were arrogant or rude. This initiative, however, has brought more discipline in the operation of buses, Mr. Manjunath added.
