Meagre pay, stress fuelling aggression in drivers: Gurgaon transport official

“The drivers on these city routes are mostly fresh recruits. Harish has been in the service for hardly 2-3 years. The drivers are recruited on a contract basis and are paid Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 a month. They have to put in 40 hours a week, which translates into eight hours a day. They can take a break only at the end of a particular route — for about 5-10 minutes,” Dalbeer said.

“Moreover, these drivers have to navigate through congested and narrow city roads. All these factors combine to create a stressful environment for them,” he said.

Dalbeer said the drivers needed to be sensitised to ply on city routes and to handle the stress that came with their job. “Currently, drivers are given supplementary training hardly once in three years. They need to be sensitised more and given special training to deal with stress. We will be writing to the transport authority on these issues. We have also requested for smaller buses for city routes,” Singh said

On the issue of road widening, HUDA officials said the construction of a flyover near Subhash Chowk was on in full speed and that road widening was also on the cards. “Road widening at the site of the accident is on the cards. It has proved difficult so far because of the flyover construction and the numerous poles on the roadside. We are shifting the poles and clearing debris to widen the stretch,” an HUDA official said.