Public Transport

Some months back when I was commuting to office, I noticed the office boy in the same bus as I was in. He too was standing, not having found a seat in the crowded bus. Being luckier than me, he soon found a place to sit. Sometime later he noticed me and offered to vacate the seat so that I may sit down. I promptly rejected the offer with a smile. We reached the office together not having had talked much for the rest of the journey.

But since that day I noticed he was pretty friendly towards me. It was not the usual "goodmorning sir". He would just smile and I would acknowledge it.

That set me thinking, perhaps the gap between us was just too wide earlier. In terms of education, social status, and many more things. But that chance encounter perhaps bridged that gap a bit. On the bus you are just a commuter, suffering together. There are no differences here. I got shoved, he got shoved. I travelled standing, he travelled standing. I got wet, he got wet. I got frustrated waiting for the bus, he too. Maybe if more people took to using the public transport we can do away with social inequity at least for a while. One place where every one is equal.

All organisations have a sports day or some equivalent. This is a day where everyone is equal and gets together. The foreman, the workers and the managers play together. This gets all employees closer and is highly encouraged. If we consider society as a "large" organisation do we have an equivalent? Public transport does come very close.

The BMTC blog

I have been travelling by public transport (BMTC in Bangalore) for close to 4 years now. Since I save close to an hour of driving time because of this, I thought to put it to good use. I will try to put down in words about my daily commuting experience. Anything that would relate to BMTC, its commuters, its employees and sometimes about myself.

Today while travelling, I was wondering how best to sell the the BMTC brand to "would be " commuters. Following seemed some of the options:-

1> BMTC, the gymnasium on wheels.
2> BMTC, the biggest predator on Bangalore roads.
3> BMTC, the society equaliser.
4> BMTC, the baby sleep machine. (you bet!)
5> BMTC, the recession transport.
6> BMTC, enhance your carbon credits.
7> BMTC, the tree saviour. (think!)