Speeding buses a nightmare for Jaipur commuters

JAIPUR: Government and private buses ply at ferocious speed and pull over at non-authorised stops here.
Authorities have long promised to make arrangements to ensure that bus drivers follow traffic rules, but nothing much has changed on the ground.
A large stretch of Tonk Road remains at the mercy of bus drivers because they often try to outspeed their rivals in order to get more passengers.
At the intersection across the JMC office in Lal Kothi, many bus drivers barely bother to check the stop light. Akshaya Agarwal, a city-based trader, said commuting on Tonk Road in the morning hours is an uphill task.
"I often have to ride my bike between two low-floor buses. Sometimes buses pull over in the middle of the road," he said.
Similar scenes can be witnessed near Narain Singh Circle, Malviya Nagar and Gopalpura bypass. Bus drivers stop their vehicles several metres ahead of the designated bus stop to get passengers, forcing other vehicles to move at a snail's pace.
Several commuters rue the fact that even standing at a proper bus stand doesn't guarantee a seat on the bus. "There has long been a practice which I noticed after moving to Jaipur that bus drivers here use red-stop as an opportunity to fill in passengers," said Sushmita Choudhary, a RAS aspirant.