To avoid delay, passengers don conductor’s hat on non-stop NWKRTC buses

Hubballi: Passengers travelling on board the Hubballi-Gadag non-stop buses that operate without conductors are often frustrated when the vehicle stops for a considerable length of time on the outskirts of Hubballi on National Highway-67, when the driver has to issue tickets to the passengers. Unfortunately, this ends up defeating the very purpose of operating non-stop buses to Gadag, given the delay, which at times takes as long as 30 minutes. Furthermore, stopping the bus for as long on the highway often poses a threat to the safety of other motorists.
Taking cognisance of the situation, passengers are offering to don the conductor’s hat on these buses, and distributing tickets to their fellow travellers. Although this has helped solve the problem, passengers and the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) crew are none too pleased with the state of affairs.
Neelesh Naik, who travels regularly on board the bus, said that the journey from Hubballi to Gadag ought to take no more than an hour, but was lasting 90 minutes, owing to the time lost wherein the driver has to halt the bus to distribute tickets. “There is more to the responsibility of the conductor than just taking money and disbursing tickets. The conductor attends to passengers’ queries, alerts them when their stop is close, among others. For the driver to be saddled with these additional responsibilities is wrong. Once the bus enters Gadag town, the driver has to make stops, and when more passengers board the bus, tickets have to be distributed again. This problem resurfaces when the bus enters Hubballi,” Naik said.
Sangeetha G, another regular traveller, admitted to being afraid to board the non-stop bus after dusk. “Once the driver is back at the wheel, there is none to ensure the safety of women. Whom do we approach in case miscreants misbehave with us,” she asked.
A NWKRTC driver from Annigeri said that he often offered to drive the bus, while returning home after having completed his work. “This small contribution helps save passengers’ valuable time. But I am worried that, should anything goes wrong, what may happen given that I am driving the bus when I should not be,” he said.
Vinayak P is one passenger who takes on the role of the conductor while on board the non-stop bus. “Since I am familiar with most of the drivers, I issue tickets using ETMs, to save time. But I must say that NWKRTC is not respecting our time,” he said.
Mayur Patil asked how the NWKRTC hoped to effect a ‘smart’ transformation without adopting technology. Having returned from a trip to Dubai recently, he said, “The government must send a team of officials to Dubai, where cash transactions are banned. Passengers use smart cards for bus travel. Once the infrastructure is set up – scanners on all buses, and smart cards issued to all passengers – I am sure 90% of the people in the state will switch to use of these cards. Then, the driver-cum-conductor will have to issue tickets only to a handful of passengers. Once this system is in place, NWKRTC can operate with nearly half the current manpower.”
“Buses are being operated without conductors so we can provide more services to the public with the available staff. We will instruct all our staff not to follow informal methods to issue tickets. We have taken cognisance of the complaints from the passengers, and will deliberate on them,” said NWKRTC, Hubballi managing director Bharath S.