When buses turn death traps

If connectivity is the key to progress, Karnataka like many other Indian states, has a long way to go. There are thousands of villages in the state where KSRTC services are not heard of with private buses ruling the roost and virtually playing with the lives of commuters.

The image of a well-connected state with modern buses took a beating two days ago when an overloaded private bus with passengers clinging to its sides and roof, overturned killing six of them and injuring many others. Two of the passengers were sisters going to school, with their lives cut short because of the negligence of the driver and the apathy of those supposed to make sure passenger vehicles do not exceed their carrying capacity.

Just a day later came the news that another private bus, this time in Chamarajnagar, had overturned injuring several passengers.

So who is to blame for the failure to enforce rules pertaining to bus movement in rural areas? Those familiar with the antics of private bus owners in Bengaluru know that if one does not move away in time when these careening vehicles approach, they could be at the receiving end of a stream of abuses. If this is the situation in the capital city, one can imagine the plight of people in the countryside where travel facilities are at a bare minimum and one has to wait for long hours for the solitary bus to appear.

Is anyone keeping a watch on the wayward behaviour of these drivers and whether they are sticking to the rules in place for running buses? Do they have the required permits or is anything permissible if one knows which palms to grease at the RTO office?

The two accidents prove that monitoring buses and cabs on village roads and highways has never been a priority for either cops or the highway patrol vehicles.

The question also arises if people really have a choice other than board these poorly driven and shabbily maintained buses when the KSRTC hardly cares about connecting farflung areas in the state. It could be because of profitability and also because of the impact of Covid induced lockdowns when bus services were reduced to the minimum. But doesn’t the government, which talks all the time about measures to improve the lot of the poor, have a responsibility to provide more services where they are needed most?

For those who do not own private vehicles and need to travel to towns and cities, the only means are the buses however scarce and overcrowded they may be. When these buses turn death traps, can the state shuts its eyes and say it’s none of its responsibility to provide travel facilities to the rural population?

Heads will have to roll and corrupt officials in the RTO and other government departments who allow bus operators to fleece passengers with impunity, hardly caring for their safety, will have to be punished if the rot in the rural transport system has to be tackled. How many more lives have to be lost before the administration wakes up and cracks the whip on negligent bus operators?