Over the years,I must have visited Mumbai hundreds of times,but I still recall the culture shock that I got on my first visit ages ago,when I saw queues at bus stops,unlike in Delhi which did not,and still does not,believe in this queue-sheue business.
In the early post Independence days,Delhi still had some private operators,one being GNIT(Gwalior and Northern India Transport Co.) whose buses went right up to the Qutub Minar. These were rather ramshackle,and broke down with unfailing regularity,needing the combined efforts of the passengers,staff and passers by in pushing them to make their geriatric engines sputter into life,an early version of public private participation!
Delhi also had trams which ran on tracks,as well as motor trams,with pneumatic wheels,which ran quieter,and looked like fat sausages on doughnuts. All these got gradually discontinued,leaving only the buses as the main public transport.
Much has changed in Delhi over the years,but what has remained unchanged is the challenging nature of its bus travel. The scene at almost every bus stop,in its chaotic glory,is reminiscent of the equestrian game of Buzkashi of Afghanistan,in which anything goes,including toppling your opponents off their horses. Bus travel in Delhi is no less than this great adventure sport.
If my memory of days long gone by serves me right,almost the only time that I recall buses in Delhi running the way they should was sometimes in the early 50s when I was in school. The staff of the Delhi Transport Service had gone on strike,and the authorities,in a rare show of spine,had called their bluff and taken the help of the army (or it could have been paramilitary forces,I was too young to know the difference),not to quell any agitation,but to run the bus service.
What followed was nothing short of a miracle. Jawans in uniform took over,a flat rate per journey was introduced,buses ran on time,and no one dared push his way in if the conductor another jawan said no. Harassment of women and ticketless travel stopped as if by magic. If there was no queue,the buses just did not stop. People got the message fast,and started queuing. It was three or four days of heavenly bliss,then the strike was called off,and it was back to square one in no time. One almost wished the strike had continued!
It must be recognised that such a system could have worked only temporarily,and only in an emergency situation. In any case,it is neither desirable nor feasible to burden the forces with routine civilian duties. However,one wishes that the authorities had learnt something from this,and similar experiences,asking why things work in a crisis situation as they should do in the normal course?
The answer is not far to find. All the ingredients of good management were there to see and learn from. The objectives were clearly spelt out and understood; those executing them were trained professionals; they were above being corrupted by a one rupee note to condone ticketless travel; they operated fairly,even though a bit summarily sometimes; and they had the authority to act as they thought fit in the discharge of their duties with the full backing of their superiors against undue pressures or unjustified complaints. This enabled them to function efficiently and effectively,and the public was happy.
All these elements can be brought together even in the civilian mode in running public services,provided we really want to,and that means a willingness on everybodys part to pay the price to achieve this.
So here is hoping that this great adventure sport of travel in Delhi by public transport will someday be what it should be a well run public service that would do us proud. Maybe,just maybe,the Metro will set the bench mark. One hopes,and lives for such a day.
The writer is a retired civil servant
