You wanna get in?

This is INTERCITY SUPER SERVICE
 

by Samangie Wettimuny

Nicely dressed working girl only expected a comfortable tour as she got into the Colombo bound A/C bus from Panadura, in the morning. In fact, could she expect otherwise, when the bus was prominently displaying the board 'Intercity Super Service'? Anyway she got a 'wrong' seat, right under the air conditioning Machine, and for her 'bad luck' it was not in a good working condition. The machine was discharging considerable 'quantity' of water on and off and by the time the bus reached Dehiwala, she looked as if she had got caught to a shower! To all her moans, the conductor had only a poor response - a dirty piece of clothe with black stains, to wipe the water off. Since the man became deaf and dumb afterwards, the poor girl had no option than to get down at Wellawatta, few miles before her due destination.

It was not so long ago that air conditioned buses appeared on our roads for local daily travellers. Despite the fact that they charge double the normal bus fare, soon it became a popular mode of transport among office workers. During the days when these buses were introduced, A/C machines were in very good condition, the number of passengers were limited as per seats available and it was INDEED a comfortable tour.

But today if you are frequently on board intercity buses, surely you may have a lot of 'interesting' things to say (though perhaps they could not be so bad as the 'story of the nicely dressed working girl'). Haven't you ever got into an intercity bus in a hurry to report to work on time, only to find that it is 'slower' than a normal bus, stopping at each and every halt? Didn't the dust from worn off curtains make you sneeze non stop?

So hot inside...

As Anjana, a daily traveller in A/C buses says A/C Machines do not properly function in some buses." Some time back I got into a bus and wondered whether it was an A/C bus at all! It was so hot inside and all of us were sweating. Passengers soon realised that the Machine had packed up and they raised their voices. Finally we were told to open the windows to let the air in and were given back half of the bus fare as COMPENSATION!"

But most of the time passengers get down at their destinations after a hectic travel in these so called Air Conditioned buses without making any complaint. It is only a few that would fight for their 'rights' collectively as Anjana and the rest of the passengers did. In fact people are in a hurry to report to work on time, also their minds are pre- occupied with problems of their own and they simply accept the inconvenience by either cursing the government, or the transport service or the passenger seated next to them or even themselves! " Unless if you raise your voice nothing seems to work. If we all didn't protest that day, the story would be the same next day as well. Even now I get into that bus and now it is Inter city super service in the fullest sense of word", She winks.

As a regular passenger of Colombo bound A/C buses (on my way to office), I have got into the same bus several times, but always see the first folding (jumping) seat unrepaired and if anyone tries to sit on it, the conductor has a fixed answer 'seat eka kadila'. Once I asked him 'Oka hadanna barida?' (Can't you repair it?), to which he had no reply, but a young guy who was seated behind had a fine one. "It is simple as this. When the seat is repaired only one person can sit there. But when it is not, five or six people can be loaded!". But the conductor did not hear that, as he was in 'deep thought', perhaps brooding over where he left the screw which was removed from the joint to make the folding seat 'eternally broken'!

"During the days these buses were introduced, it was a comfortable tour.

It was like travelling in our own vehicle. But now most of the Intercity buses are overloaded" says a middle aged government servant who has been travelling in intercity buses for the past ten years. Anyway today in most of the intercity buses at least two or three people are standing either leaning on to a seat or holding the over head bar like bats! 'Sometimes even when the folding seats are in good condition, conductors don't allow us to use them. The bus is also jam packed and we hardly see where these seats are!"

Difficult to say No

But as conductors say they never force people to get in. "They stand near bus halts awaiting an intercity bus and would gesture us to stop. However much over crowded the bus may be, they'll squeeze in somehow. So can we say NO?" Once when a passenger who was comfortably seated shouted at the conductor for over loading, the latter flipped back. "Mahaththayath me bus ekatama hitagena yanna naginne. Ethakota kavuruhari baninawanam kamathida?" (Sir, you too get into this bus when it is crowded. Do you like if someone shouts at you then?")

There are people who have no other option. As an Undergraduate Varuni says she never goes by normal buses as they stop at each and every halt and she gets late to attend university lectures. She does not want to go by train either as she could never get a seat (as these seats are always unofficially 'reserved' for a regular set of passengers.) Just as for Varuni, for many other passengers who are particular about their comfortable tour, A/C bus is the only available option, unless they travel in their own vehicles. In fact for office workers there are private staff service buses, but university students who have lectures at irregular hours can't travel by them regularly.

Regular passengers

Even though the bus is crowded, there are a set of regular passengers who would get in. When we are comfortably seated we find passengers who fall all over a real nuisance, but when we squeeze in to the same bus on another day, we fail to realize the inconvenience we cause to other passengers who are seated in front rows. Then we would even expect them to offer to keep our bags or files as well!

Amidst all this, real 'intercity super service' buses DO exist. They have clean curtains, properly air conditioned, number of passengers are limited to the exact number of seats. You certainly can rely on them for a quick and comfortable journey. Some even have TV sets to make you happy and live!

Anyway (though you are in a hurry to report to work on time), it is not wise to get in, just because they display the board 'intercity super service.' It is up to you to decide whether it is a super service or otherwise as you get in! If it is not so 'super', it is rather wise to get down or take 'precautionary action' than wait till you get 'caught in 'rain'!" Get down and wait for next 'intercity super service'...If that too is no better, wait for a third or fourth .....till you get PAY CUTS for late attendance!

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