Thursday, May 7, 2009

Colour TV

Several years back when the BMTC was called BTS, there was a scheme wherein you could win a TV if your bus ticket contained the winning number. Basically the BTS bus ticket doubled up as a lottery ticket as well. And it was a "colour TV", no less!! This was perhaps a mechanism to make sure that the passengers actually collected the tickets. The proclivity of conductors to reissue used tickets was perhaps prevalent even then.

I distinctly remember waiting for my uncle who used to live with us and used to travel regularly by BTS. I would collect the ticket and wait for the next day's newspaper since that contained the details of the winning number. This was a very exciting time, though I never won a thing. I am sure every household in Bangalore had a similar story. A colour TV was a pretty big thing then.

I dont remember when I stopped doing this. Perhaps when my uncle set up his own home. Like so many other wonderful things of my childhood this too is just a hazy memory.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Tricks

Picture this .

You are trying out BMTC. First day you get on the bus and approach the conductor for a ticket. You hand him a 10/- note. He smiles and hands you back 5/-. Taken aback at this civil gesture you happily take the 5/- and alight at your designated stop.

Conductor-1 You-0.

The ticket costs 8/-. He took 5/- from you and did not issue a ticket. High risks result in higher gains. But in this case the risks are yours and the gain is all his.

Next day, wisened by the past experiences, you ask him for a ticket (not caring for the smile). He issues you a ticket but does not give the change of 2/-. That amount is written at the back of the ticket for which you may approach him towards the end of the journey. You accept this as a genuine problem, after all everyone faces the problem of loose change. You later get down at your stop having had forgotten about the pending transaction.

Conductor-2 You-0.

The gain was his, there were no risks, but the loss of 2/- was all yours.

Third day, you remember to collect the change and hand the conductor the ticket with 2/- scrawled at the back. Defeated, he hands you the change. You'd think you won. Right?

No. You did not ask the conductor to return the ticket. He is going to reissue the same and start the game all over.

Conductor-3 You-0.

The loss was BMTC's and the gain entirely his.

Thinking why you fared badly? You are doing this for the first time, but the conductor is probably doing it for the 10th time(on that day).

Monday, May 4, 2009

BMTC Revenues

For the year 2007, the revenues reported by BMTC were 940 crores. The profits were 140 crores. That is a splendid result. Also, it is the only profit-making urban state transport undertaking. Contrast its performance with the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation, which managed to better its last year performance by reducing its loss from Rs. 63 crore (2006-07) to Rs. 45 crore this year. DTC, Delhi posted a loss of Rs. 767 crore for 2006-2007.

Now for figures of another kind. I have noticed that some of the conductors on the BMTC buses manage to make some 'extra' money. On an average it would not be incorrect to assume that for every 10/- that the conductor collects on tickets (not passes), he makes 1/-. Now BMTC runs 5000 buses. So lets assume there are as many conductors as well. For the 940 crores revenues, assume that only 400 crores is by way of tickets. 10% of that is 40 crores. 40 crores divided by 5000 yields 80000/-. So that is the amount that is lost (or gained !) on every bus for a year. Not bad! No wonder, that the BMTC employees have not struck work for some time.

But, just imagine what the amount might be for DTC Delhi, that posted a loss of 767 crores. I do not have the revenues for that organisation. But might be a tidy figure.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Bye Pushpak

The pushpak buses that were introduced by BMTC several years back to provide better service to its customers seem to be dying a slow death. The recently introduced suvarna seems to be the newer and better version of the pushpak. One of my biggest grouses against the pushpak was the narrow aisle. This made entering and alighting difficult. The conductor too had a tough time, being unable to move swiftly from one end of the bus to the other. Just to convenience 15 extra people (courtesy the extra seats) they ended up inconveniencing all the passengers.

Today, we find that most of the pushpaks do not have a conductor. The driver doubles up as a conductor as well. This double role causes great discomfort to the passengers since the bus moves that much slower. Also the traffic behind the bus gets piled up. These buses can be converted to the "pass bus" where you do not purchase a ticket. Only the daily/monthly passes would be allowed. This reduces the burden on the driver.

But do the drivers like the dual role since it allows them to make some extra cash ?