HYDERABAD: How safe is Telangana’s public transport system in the hands of temporary drivers? The 35-year-old TCS employee’s death on Tuesday has sparked off a debate on the reliability and accountability of temporary drivers.
Sohini, a mother of two, was killed when an RTC bus manned by a temporary driver rammed her scooter from behind and ran over her. On the same day, another accident involving an RTC bus was reported from the city’s outskirts, wherein a pedestrian was injured.
The concern that most citizens have right now is simple: With the RTC staff having withdrawn their strike, why is the government choosing to give the critical task of driving buses to inexperienced and untrained drivers?
Officials from the corporation, on condition of anonymity, said that an RTC driver is not only mandated to have prior experience of driving passenger vehicles but is also expected to pass the RTC’s driving test.
He/she would then undergo rigorous training for about two to three months, and is eventually selected. Despite this, almost round the year, senior RTC drivers have a refresher course of sorts to reverify their skills.
In contrast, when a temporary driver is chosen -- while he may have experience on paper -- he is not put through rigorous training like the RTC drivers.
“We take only those with heavy motor licence and those with experience of driving passenger vehicles,” said a depot manager, on the condition of anonymity.
Furthermore, the RTC depot managers say that what makes the RTC drivers better than temporary drivers is the fact that they are familiar with their routes.
“With years of driving, they know all the blind spots and danger zones. They also know how to navigate the same. This makes temporary drivers less experienced,” added another depot manager.
It is learnt that the driver of the 127K bus that mowed down Sohini had six years of passenger vehicle experience.