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People recall their first experience with various modes of transport

29th May 2023, 12:30 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Here the modes of transport are not restricted to cars, motorcycles, planes, boats or trains.

BHPian GForceEnjoyer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

What was the first car you can remember riding in? The first plane you can remember flying on? The first boat ride you can remember? The first train you can remember traveling by? The first two-wheeler, the first bus and so on. And when did these experiences take place? I'll go first, here's my list.

Since I was born in 2006, my first memories will be much more recent compared to most members.

Car: A 2006 Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXI. My first clear memories of it are from a drive to Nainital, Uttarakhand, on a freezing winter day in 2008.
Plane: A Kingfisher Red ATR-72. This flight was from Delhi to Jabalpur in the year 2009. I distinctly remember the flight taking off just before sunrise and how the sky was dark on one side of the plane, while being a subtle orange on the other.
Two-wheeler: An Activa. This was a rental in Goa in either 2009 or 2010.
Boat: A Washington State Ferry. This was in the year 2011 from the Port of Seattle to Port Angeles. This was also my first time hearing of a ferry that could carry cars on it too!
Train: Delhi to Jabalpur. It was an overnight journey from Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station sometime in the year 2008.
Bus: An SML Isuzu school bus/a red DTC bus. I'm not fully sure which came first.

I now invite all fellow members to post their memories and associated details below. Modes of transport do not have to be restricted to those mentioned above! And the greater the amount of detail you can recall, the better.

Here's what BHPian BoneCollector had to say about the matter:

With what my memory serves me right, I'll pen down my firsts -
2-wheeler - It was a white Bajaj Chetak of Dad in the early 80s. But my bicycle ride came in the late 80s when I rode it.
Car - It was an Ambassador belonging to my maternal grandfather in the early 80s followed by Dad's Premier Padmini in 1996.
Train - A short 30kms ride in a meter gauge train to my aunt somewhere in 1987 followed by an 1100 km ride in October 1987 when we had gone for admission of my brother in RIMC Dehradun.
Bus - It was in 1984 as we had to travel to Patna frequently for some medical issues. I vividly remember crossing the newly inaugurated Mahatma Gandhi Setu.
Flight - I took my first flight in October 2002 in Air Sahara from Bangalore to Delhi to Patna. It was a B737 and was offered a cold wet towel and a glass of Aam panna while the flight was on the taxiway. First ATR flight was in 2007 from Patna to Kolkata in Air Deccan.
Boat - I don't like boat rides and can literally count on my fingers the times I've been on a boat. My first boat ride was in 1991 in Nainital.
Although I might have travelled in these transportation modes earlier than the time I've mentioned, these are what I remember.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say about the matter:

Car: I recall rides in our PAL 118NE and the original Tata Sumo back in the early 90s. When the Esteem came home in 95, it felt like heaven.
Bikes: Dad had a Bajaj M80 and a Priya for factory use, we would often go for joyrides.
Flight: I flew alone from Delhi to Baroda when I was 5 or 6 years old. Those were different times when we could drop people off right at the boarding gates. I distinctly remember my grandfather handing me over to the air hostess at Delhi airport, making me memorise my father’s contact details all the way till there. Indian Airlines used to serve candies before takeoffs.
Boat: The ferry from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves.
Truck We had a blue colour DCM Toyota truck for factory use, dad would occasionally send us for joyrides.
Train A narrow gauge line from the princely state of Baroda, it ran from the village of Jambusar to the city. My father would make us take this train and explain its historical significance. Little me used to hate it, the train used to take twice as long as our car. Not sure if it is still in operation today. Otherwise, we were regulars on August Kranti Rajdhani and Paschim Express trains, Delhi to Baroda.
Bus experience came much later in life, with Delhi’s DTC and Blueline buses when I started college.

Here's what BHPian narayans80 had to say about the matter:

2-wheeler
As a passenger, must be going since I was a 4-month-old. As a rider, it was 2000 on a TVS XT.
Car
As a passenger in someone else's car was 31st October 1984, the day then PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated and we had to be picked up emergency in a neighbor's car.
In our own car as a passenger was to Bangalore in 1987.
As a driver in my own car was September 2010 to Hosur.
First night drive was Madras-Poovar in May 2012.
First 1000 km drive was 4 June 2019
Train
Meter Gauge Vaigai Express in 1985.
Broad gauge Madras Central-Nagercoil in 1998 when Chord Line was down for BG conversion.
Only First Class (FC class, not 1A) was June 2008 on Tirupati-Bangalore Fast Passenger.
First First AC travel was TN express in 2008.
First Rajdhani travel was 19 December 2021
First Second AC and Third AC were on Bangalore Mail in 2007.
No rides in Gatimaan or Vande Bharat yet
Bus
Madras-Tiruchendur in route 189 in good old TTC in 1986.
First private bus was KB Travel, also in 1986. Yes, the same bus service that is featured in Agni Natchathiram movie in the 'en pondatti oorukku poita' scene.
Flight
Madras-Frankfurt on Lufthansa LH 759 on 11th August 2001. Airbus 330-200 or 330-300.
Bangalore-Bombay in Air Deccan in December 2007 (21st December I think).
Bicycle
Learning it from a hired one in 1986.
Longest ride was from T. Nagar to Tiruvanmiyur in 1987 (also hired).
First in my own cycle was the summer holidays of 1990.
Ferry
KTDC Thekkady ferry in the summer holidays of 1988
With car on Jaigad-Taswal ferry on 28 December 2017