[odyssey045]

There are numerous threads over here and in other forums which complain about traffic/bad driving and bad roads. As the threads' discussions go on, some one or the other is bound to comment saying "Take the public transport" as a solution to all the woes that we face on the road.This is deemed to have a number of lucrative advantages such as

- you do not risk driving and hence the mental tension associated with it
- Its eco friendly
- saves money on fuel

Whenever some one suggests such a solution to me when i start cribbing about the traffic, i feel like shooting a question back at them "Do *you* use public transport?" The disadvantages are numerous.. In bangalore, public transport is synonymous with BMTC buses (unless you have the luxury of taking the metro along its specific route or one of those YPR/SBC bound passenger trains). They takes a lot of time, there is always some one in the bus trying to get hold of your precious mobile/wallet/laptop .. You barely get breathing space, let alone standing space.. even in those luxury volvos.. And finally, by the time you cross the road from the bus stop and walk to your office, you are lucky if you aren't run over by another of those buses/tempo travellers/indicas/rashly driven cars etc.. Given that we don't get to spend a lot of quality time with family during workdays, time is a dominant factor when trying to decide on public transport.

Some people have the luxury of being able to take company provided transport that comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.. For the sake of our argument, lets leave that out of the discussion and just persist with private transport vs public transport.

Which one do you mostly prefer and why? If you are some one who drives your own car/bike to work, what would it take for you to abandon it and take public transport.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by odyssey045

Which one do you mostly prefer and why? If you are some one who drives your own car/bike to work, what would it take for you to abandon it and take public transport.

I would gladly take the Volvo bus to work and back every day except perhaps when it is pouring.
Would be pleased to keep the car for the weekends only.

However, the fact that I have to walk on non existent pedestrian paths and broken roads and potholes and slush for quite a distance to catch the bus, is extremely daunting.
This is the only reason that I am not using the Volvo buses on weekdays.

[latentpotential]

My work is akin to a travelling salesman meeting top level executives (apparently) of large co's/ clients. I started using public transport initially, but, with the locations varying from Malad to Town to Belapur in a single day, it is very impractical. Further, with the sweat in summer and rains to drench you in the monsoon, spoiled clothes, shoes etc. would not be very supportive in my JD.

Moved up to a bike, and then in some time to four wheelers.

[Dry Ice]

While in Hyd, I bought a bike specifically to avoid both the company transport and the public transport. Public transport mainly consisted of overloaded Tata Aces/Autos or the pre-independence buses! No thank you, I would rather walk. Avoided office transport as well coz the work timings were not regular and the office transport invariably added an hour or 2 more to my day even though my home was just about 4 kms away!


In Del, I take the company transport to office and find it very convenient. But would I take a state transport bus? Hell No! Why?
- No direct connectivity
- Pretty sad state of buses, even the AC ones.
- Crowd! Don't want be on the constant look out of my belongings.

On occasions, I do take the Metro to places that fall along the route, but even that, never during the peak office time.

[lambuhere1]

Couple of similar observations as noted in the article.

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index...646106ebff1dfd


http://www.bangaloremirror.com/artic...%E2%80%99.html

[Shiv_1984]

For me it's the Rush factor. I live on ORR and there aren't too many direct buses (volvos) from my place to Elec City. However, even if i have to change buses, I dont mind but the rush simply keeps me off. Too much of traffic, no place to sit, long commute time takes a toll on me. ON top of it, if its raining, it's all stationary specially these big vehicles.

[joybhowmik]

I live in South Delhi, and commute to Gurgaon by car. I have a metro card but the lack of dependable first mile and last mile connectivity makes it very daunting to depend on public transport.
I cannot take company transport (office bus) because it increases the overall commute time, and my work-schedules are crazy
Besides, Delhi in Summers and Rainy season is a pedestrian's nightmare. Walking in the blazing hot sun or trying to evade the many puddles in the rain for a kilometer (sometimes two), and lugging a heavy laptop back at the same time is something best avoided.

[lazy]

Despite the excellent Volvos, I don't use them for my office commute.

Reasons:
1. Absence of footpaths - necessiate walking on roads between home/office and busstops. Find this very risky given how my countrymen drive.
2. Dust and filth - there's no way I can reach office with clean clothes and shoes if I take the bus. And shining leathers are very important for me.
3. Busstop madness - if I need to get onto the bus, I'll need to do what everyone else does - not wait in the busstop but the road - again, find it risky.

On weekend, I do use the volvos, when they/busstops aren't so crowded.

[mpksuhas]

In my view atleast for Bangalore taking public transport to office can be considered if all of the following conditions are met -
1. Your working time is fixed.
2. It is possible for you to start early (before 8AM) and leave from office early (~5.30 PM).
3. There is a direct bus route from your residence to office.

I used to stay around 12 Kms from my office and wanted to shift to public transport / office transport. However I had to drop the option of office transport since my working hours may extent on some days.
Regarding public transport, had to drop off since I had to take 2 buses and walk around 1.5 Kms in total and add to that buses was becoming too crowded on peak hours.
So started using car and later shifted somewhat near by.

On weekend shopping trips try to take public transport as much as possible. No headache of driving in mad traffic and also need not worry about parking.

[ajmat]

I tried, my home was 1 km from a Volvo stop and the office was right on the route. Returning, I needed to walk to get to the bus stop although traffic jams helped catching the bus enroute also I need to walk back home for 1 km.

What happened?

1: At 7 am, I could not get a seat, I carry a laptop and it gets painful
2: Rains, dust etc.
3: Buses cannot take the short cuts I take
4: Crossing roads like Richmond Road, Old Airport Road is scary

I now work on the ORR, it is a long walk + climb over lunar landscape to reach the bus stop.

I gave up but I do use the bus for quick trips within town where I am not timebound

[ottocycle]

I have managed to take public transport (only Buses/No autos) everyday. Following are the things that work in my favor.

Home to Office is just 3km and sometime, I walk back all the way from Office to Home. Footpath is present atleast for 2 km.

I usually start during non-peak time, hence bearable crowd in the bus. Even then, I have to walk for little more than 1 km. Given that the distance to be traveled is very less (5-10 mins), I feel fine. Had it been anything more than 30 mins, it would be unbearable.

I go by car if it rains/is going to rain.

[carzone]

I do use public transport.
College was at a distance of 17Kms from home. The bus which drops me right next to the college has a starting stop at a distance of 300mts from the gate of my complex. Just have to wait around 20 minutes in a line, but that is bearable. Of late, BEST had started another bus service which had a good frequency and no waiting, I preferred that.

The next college was all the way across the town. I used to travel by the crowded Mumbai locals. But then, found a couple of suitable timings that suit me. Boarding the trains from the starting location and getting a window seat was easy, even though it meant leaving about 15-20 minutes early. If I would have driven/ridden to the college, the traffic in the peak hours would have taken its toll and the time consumed would be more or similar, if not less. Taking the public transport helped me do some of the work and relax plugging in my headphones to the phone.

Personally, if I reside in places and need to go to the places which are closer or well connected, I prefer public transport. This is if I am travelling alone. If I family travelling with me to a place where the roads would be relatively traffic free, we do use the car as well.

[Soumyajit9]

I'm talking about Bangalore. I commute from BTM 2nd Stage (precisely from near CCD, BTM Lake Road) to Whitefield (precisely Accenture, Divyasree Technopark which doesn't even feature on Google maps).

A typical day if I take a public transport (Volvo bus) to work:::

- The nearest bus stop is Mahadeshwara Bus Stop (in BTM 16th Main), about 1km from my house.
- There are 2 buses that ply to and fro from Majestic only.
- To go to work, I need to board 500C buses only, which are available from Udupi Garden signal, or AXA Signal. So can't hop into any one of the buses that depart near my house.
- Udupi Garden junction is 2.5kms uphill from my house. AXA junction is 3km flat road from my house.
- Catch an Auto, pay Rs.50 for a ride to any of these junctions.
- Walking - Not possible - Hasty morning, work up late, got late (my fault), peak zig zagging traffic, non existent and inconsistent footpaths.
- Ok, somehow I manage to reach any one of the above junctions. Now, I have to skip around 8-10 Volvos inorder to hop into one Volvo which has atleast some space for me to put my foot in. Hug my bag as tightly I can, so that it doesn't get trapped in the doors. Worse, use one hand to hold on tightly onto the holding rod (don't know the exact term), so that I don't fall off, if the doors open.
- Pay another Rs.55 and keep standing for 1.5hrs till Vydehi signal.
- Get down and walk 1 km to my office + 1 km from office gate till the elevators.
- Or, pay another Rs.50 from Vydehi signal to my office gate (1 km) and then walk another 1 km from office gate to the elevator.

End of the day, spend Rs.300 for a nightmare commute.
Better, pay up Rs.350 (Petrol) and enjoy the drive to office - 25kms, 1hr in AC with nice music.
Ohh, did I say enjoy the drive ? Naaah...not possible in Bangalore. But atleast better than in our dear public transportation.

P.S: My post sounds more like of a Rant ? So Be It.

Second to you lambuhere. Few strong reasons of not taking a bus. BMTC is a rich company and don't have changes to provide to passengers.
An example, I withdraw Rs.1000 from ATM and get Rs 100 and Rs 500 currency, so should I buy something from a shop and keep the change ready to provide to the conductor ? Other than that, I can't board a bus because I don't have change ? Ridiculous !!!

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Couple of similar observations as noted in the article.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index...646106ebff1dfd
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/artic...%E2%80%99.html

[ghodlur]

I did the brief stint of using the public transportation but had to give up for the following reason:
1) The timings were erratic.
2) The return journey was exhaustive with standing for almost 3/4th journey.
3) One bus missed in the mornings means you would have to stand all the way in the mornings too. This was taking a toll on the body.

My numerous mails for improvement to the BEST went unanswered.

Did Carpooling also for a few months. Later the carpooler's timing got erratic, hence ditched that one too. Finally settled to driving to work, enjoying the same.

[dass]

I stay at ORR and office is in IRR. (o=outer, I = inner, RR = Ring Road) did this to ensure no infractions from outside BLR mods.

Ok, back to the topic. The distance is approx 11kms each way. Sounds just about right to take the public transport, doesnt it? Now the actual story.
1. I work the afternoon shifts, so by the time i log off there are no public busses on roads, only private cabs. I dont want to be in the news papers the next day for taking a cab at night and being robbed.
2. For this distance, I will have to change 3 busses, walk probably 1km all put together. However the positive is that I may get to sit when I board the bus as its a non peak hour.

I tried twowheelers, but my Dr adviced me to respect the Sun and ditch the TW for the sake of my VitaminD deficiency and my hurting back due to the potholed roads.
I HATE auto's, so unless i cannot absolutely walk anywhere, I will NEVER take a auto.

All said and done, I drive daily and surely do enjoy it. I may change it, if BMTC promises to provide busses all through the night and direct connections too.