Passengers wear conductor’s hats on nonstop buses in North Karnataka | Hubballi News
HUBBALLI: Passengers traveling on nonstop Hubballi-Gadag buses that operate without a driver are often frustrated when the vehicle stops for a considerable amount of time on the outskirts of Hubballi on National Road 67, when the driver has to issue tickets for The passengers. Unfortunately, this ends up defeating the very purpose of operating non-stop buses to Gadag, given the delay, which sometimes takes up to 30 minutes. In addition, stopping the bus for so long on the highway often poses a threat to the safety of other motorists.
Aware of the situation, the passengers offer to put on the driver’s hat in these buses and distribute tickets to their traveling companions. Although this helped solve the problem, the passengers and crew of the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) are not very happy with the situation.
Neelesh Naik, who travels on the bus regularly, said the journey from Hubballi to Gadag should not take more than an hour, but would take 90 minutes, due to wasted time where the driver has to stop the bus to distribute the tickets. . “The driver’s responsibility is not limited to taking money and disbursing tickets. The driver answers questions from passengers, alerts them when their stop is near, among other things. That the driver is responsible for these additional responsibilities is a mistake. Once the bus enters Gadag town, the driver has to make stops, and when more passengers board the bus, the tickets have to be distributed again. This problem resurfaces when the bus enters Hubballi Naik said.
Sangeetha G, another regular traveler, admitted to being afraid to get on the non-stop bus after dark. “Once the driver takes over the wheel, there is no one to keep the women safe. Who to contact in case bad guys behave badly with us,” she asked.
A driver from the NWKRTC in Annigeri said he often offered to drive the bus, while returning home after finishing work. “This small contribution helps save valuable time for passengers. But I’m afraid that if something goes wrong, what might happen as I’m driving the bus when I shouldn’t,” he said. declared.
Vinayak P is a passenger who takes on the role of driver on the non-stop bus. “As I know most drivers, I issue tickets using ETMs, to save time. But I have to say that NWKRTC does not respect our time,” he said.
Mayur Patil asked how the NWKRTC hopes to achieve “smart” transformation without adopting technology. Returning from a trip to Dubai recently, he said: “The government needs to send a team of officials to Dubai, where cash transactions are prohibited. Passengers use smart cards to travel by bus. Once the infrastructure is in place – scanners on all buses, and smart cards issued to all passengers – I’m sure 90% of the state’s residents will switch to using these cards. Then the driver-driver will only have to issue tickets to a handful of passengers. Once this system is in place, NWKRTC can operate with almost half of the current workforce.”
“The buses are operated without a driver so that we can provide more services to the public with the staff available. We will ask all our staff not to follow informal methods of issuing tickets. We have taken note of passenger complaints and we will will deliberate on them,” said Hubballi Managing Director NWKRTC Bharath S.
Aware of the situation, the passengers offer to put on the driver’s hat in these buses and distribute tickets to their traveling companions. Although this helped solve the problem, the passengers and crew of the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) are not very happy with the situation.
Neelesh Naik, who travels on the bus regularly, said the journey from Hubballi to Gadag should not take more than an hour, but would take 90 minutes, due to wasted time where the driver has to stop the bus to distribute the tickets. . “The driver’s responsibility is not limited to taking money and disbursing tickets. The driver answers questions from passengers, alerts them when their stop is near, among other things. That the driver is responsible for these additional responsibilities is a mistake. Once the bus enters Gadag town, the driver has to make stops, and when more passengers board the bus, the tickets have to be distributed again. This problem resurfaces when the bus enters Hubballi Naik said.
Sangeetha G, another regular traveler, admitted to being afraid to get on the non-stop bus after dark. “Once the driver takes over the wheel, there is no one to keep the women safe. Who to contact in case bad guys behave badly with us,” she asked.
A driver from the NWKRTC in Annigeri said he often offered to drive the bus, while returning home after finishing work. “This small contribution helps save valuable time for passengers. But I’m afraid that if something goes wrong, what might happen as I’m driving the bus when I shouldn’t,” he said. declared.
Vinayak P is a passenger who takes on the role of driver on the non-stop bus. “As I know most drivers, I issue tickets using ETMs, to save time. But I have to say that NWKRTC does not respect our time,” he said.
Mayur Patil asked how the NWKRTC hopes to achieve “smart” transformation without adopting technology. Returning from a trip to Dubai recently, he said: “The government needs to send a team of officials to Dubai, where cash transactions are prohibited. Passengers use smart cards to travel by bus. Once the infrastructure is in place – scanners on all buses, and smart cards issued to all passengers – I’m sure 90% of the state’s residents will switch to using these cards. Then the driver-driver will only have to issue tickets to a handful of passengers. Once this system is in place, NWKRTC can operate with almost half of the current workforce.”
“The buses are operated without a driver so that we can provide more services to the public with the staff available. We will ask all our staff not to follow informal methods of issuing tickets. We have taken note of passenger complaints and we will will deliberate on them,” said Hubballi Managing Director NWKRTC Bharath S.