On his blog about living in Delhi, Dave Prager tries to figure out why 100-plus citizens are killed by that city’s blue buses each year: 1) The drivers’ salaries are dependent on how many fares they pick up, and thus the faster they drive the more money they make. 2) The drivers rent their buses, so they have no incentive to make repairs — and sometimes drive their vehicles until the wheels detach. Prager’s advice to Delhi’s citizens: “Invoke Ganesha for luck … look both ways. Or maybe just don’t cross the street.” [%comments]
Why Delhi's Buses Kill People
TAGS: India, transportation
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Sounds like our banking system…
This isn’t really worth out here.
Anyway, bad research, minimum tickets don’t cost Rs. 2 anymore.
Also, its unfair to single out the Bluelines (as ruthless as they are and as badly driven). There is a whole bunch of drivers on the prowl, from cabs to self driven vehicles. In proportion (if we have stats now), it wouldn’t seem that bad maybe. Its reprehensible that 115 die a year from 2300 plying buses.
Delhi is a massive region and these buses cover more distance than any other bus service setup in the world.
To blame are bad roads in patches, people standing on the roads at bus stops, people trying to cross the roads randomly etc. Its lawlessness of an awesome kind, not varied media melee.
lack of accountability
Let’s also not forget to mention that getting a driver’s license in Delhi has little to do with ability to drive or knowing the laws, and more to do with which strings you can pull and how much you can ‘tip.’
hah, now that i know there is at least one place where buses are worse than buses in my Vietnam
though our buses are not really good: usually late, skip the bus-stops (i dont know why they dont wanna pick up the passengers), rude conductors, dirty, bad smell…
the worst thing is that the drivers dont stop the buses for us to get off or get on but they just slow down. and they’ll yell if someone is slow (especially old people, disabled, pregnant…)
there are some cases that some buses closed the doors and run while passengers were still getting off
people-dragging buses !
The disincentive for such actions is always in law enforcement. If only laws were properly enforced out there without the decade long delays and the blatant corruption…
Indiscipline. We Lack Discipline. I guess the attitude will change after generations!
Government is not powerful enough to enforce any system. It can enforce a system, in places where they find that enforcing a system will accrue profits to various government and other associated bodies.
@akshyat: The price of the ticket is not the point of contention. You seem to miss the larger point. The argument being made here is about the incentive-penalty system. There’s large incentive and little penalty for private bus drivers.