A private bus owner whose vehicle is plying on long routes works hard and in just two to three years he is in a position to buy another bus and thus add to his assets. On the other hand, take the case of a bus of State Transport Corporation. After two years of service, this bus has its window panes broken, tyres gone, engine almost defunct, doors and windows non-existent, seats all torn and pierced and everything in it shakes and clatters except the horn. Why is it so? This question is raised by everyone yet there is no answer to it.
The answer is simple. There is corruption; the entire Transport Corporation organization is corrupted and irresponsible. No officer takes any interest in performing his assigned duty perfectly. Everybody in the Corporation wants to steal whatever he can. There is general loot and there is abject irresponsibility and unaccountability in the institution. Commuters convey shocking stories of mismanagement of bus service. Broken seats, window panes, dirt and filth piled up under the seats, arrogant behavior of the driver or the conductor and regular break down during the travel these are the conditions of SRTC bus. There is a large force of supervisors, ticket checkers etc. but no one seems to be interested in performing his duty honestly. Bus fare is charged without issuing the tickets. Nobody is prepared to take the responsibility of streamlining the regulating of bus services, maintaining the standard of the buses and treating passengers with dignity and respect. This is the reason why people do not want to travel by these uncomfortable buses and prefer to travel by private buses and hence the loss to the SRTC. It has become a white elephant and unless it is totally overhauled or privatized, it will continue to be a big liability on the State exchequer.
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