Woes Of A Commuter

It is going to be a lengthy rambling. I do get pick up from company cab daily, but no drop. So I've to travel by bus to home. There are frequency of BMTC buses. Public transport in Bangalore is very good. For that matter it is great throughout the state, be it government or private sector. I digress.

I have observed few characteristic behaviors in conductors. The knowledge only comes from ardent experience. These sort of conductors always expect us to render exact change. Some even have the audacity to ask us to get down if we don't have change. They cut the ticket, write the balancing amount at the back of the ticket gibberishly. They never volunteer to return it. When you ask, they pester for change once again like 1 or 2 or 5 rupees depending on the amount. If you don't have that, there is a chance you never get it. Most of the time they demand you to wait untill the stop comes. And when that stops comes, don't be surprised to find them in the back of the bus. If you are dashing and daring enough to make way through the sea of people, you are a lucky dog. It is not uncommon for people to completely forget about it and get down. They have mastered the art of making you feel extremely guilty for hassling them for 1 or 2 rupees. They sometimes act as a matchmaker by challenging you to share change between total strangers. They become extremely rude and unruly if you start conversing logically. They are petrified of rules and regulations and complaints. And be ready for the most standard and hilarious answer for not having change is "I've come to duty just now," no matter what time of day or night it is.

It is okay if you're an occasional traveler, but for a regular like me it is annoying. Sometimes I feel silly arguing with them and think it is worthless. Again, it is not about the "money". There is a thing called honesty and fairness right? It is my hard-earned money after all. I'm sure by this means they make minimum 200 to 300 per day. It is extra income for them. Weren't they paid enough? Again, isn't it cheating or to be more precise corruption? Maybe they are small fish in the big corrupt department. BMTC prices shot up when fuel price increased, however, it didn't come down when fuel price reduced. They haven't budge even after several protests. They say BMTC is running in loss. I wonder how and why? Almost all buses are jam-packed throughout the day. Volvos are only exceptional, but those are targeted for IT industry. This dishonesty has been happening for a very long time. It probably is a second skin to them. I realize it is another corrupt department just like other government offices.

PS-There are few honest conductors too, but surely they are a rare breed.