While safety concerns of women travelling on BMTC buses is a matter of debate, security near small bus stops in different parts of the state is questionable too.
Inter-city commuters say private and government buses often drop them off close to a bus stop, where security is not very tight. Sometimes, private buses even drop them off at main city junctions or popular points, instead of bus stops.
“I travel to my hometown every weekend and since my work ends late, sometimes I reach my hometown well after midnight. The driver stops for tea right at the entrance of the city and we are supposed to get off there. There are no autos to go home from there and even if we get an auto, either the auto driver charges an exorbitant amount or passes comments or do both,” said Sreelatha S, a techie.
Keerthana R, another techie who has had similar experiences, said arguing with the conductor or the driver would lead to some kind of harassment.
“When I once questioned a conductor of a private bus for stopping in a secluded place, he threw away my bag on the road and I was forced to get off there. Luckily, it was early in the morning and I took a local bus to reach home. My friends have been teased by some drivers and conductors when they stopped for dinner at a dhaba,” she said.
However, government transport corporation authorities claim they take enough measures for the safety of commuters, especially women.
“We have special single ladies’ seats and our ticketing officials, online and offline, always alert a female passenger about choosing this option. The awareness level about this is good,” said Manjunatha Prasad, MD, KSRTC.
He said introduction of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) would help in increasing the level of safety of female passengers.
“The ITS will ensure that details about the route, driver, conductor and stopping points are communicated to the control room live. Surveillance cameras will also be introduced soon. We are soon starting a service where the mobile number of the conductor will be messaged to commuters while booking tickets. Drivers and conductors will now be allowed to use mobile phones, but not while driving,” he said.
A private bus company claimed that ladies’ seats were strictly reserved for female commuters. “We have an entire row on the left side reserved for women in all our buses. We try to inform the passengers (of this) while booking tickets and have put out numbers of our 24/7 call centre where people can complain,” said an administrator of the company.