Reporter's Diary: When MTC buses go back, instead of moving forward
Regular MTC passengers have experienced first-hand, the sudden breakdown of a bus half way through a ride in the city. Most people suffer in silence. However, this journo recently learned that many buses breakdown because they are not fit to run.
By : migrator
Update: 2016-11-05 04:58 GMT
Chennai
A couple of days ago, this reporter and other passengers were a bit concerned when the MTC bus suddenly struggled to climb up the flyover. Despite the driver’s best efforts to rev up, the bus did not move. When he took his foot off the pedal for a second, the bus slid back, giving everyone a fright.
When a passenger asked the conductor if he should get off the bus, the conductor replied in the negative, while the driver kept moving the gear back and forth with one leg on the accelerator till the bus inched forward. His efforts paid off and the bus finally climbed up the flyover.
This reporter asked whether such incidents occurred often. The driver, unaware that he was speaking to a scribe, said that the bus was unfit for a ride in the first place. “Our higher officials insist on taking such buses on the road.
The bus gets off to a start only after it is pushed from behind by the maintenance crew. It is our job to ensure that the vehicle keeps moving, to earn some much needed revenue for the department,” he said. The driver’s candid confession had one definite outcome. This scribe has swore off MTC buses for a while! — R Lenin, Chennai
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