Transport in Delhi is an expensive business, especially if you are new in the city. Coming from town that starts and ends in a radius of some 25 kilometres, travelling kilometres each day seems to be a Herculean task; at least in the beginning. In the national capital moving without a personal vehicle was nothing short of a challenge for me.
After sticking to auto-rickshaws for a while, I decided it wasn’t good for my pocket. Metro was for selected routes, unfortunately not in route I was travelling on. As all the Delhites do, I decided to make buses my friend for travelling.
I consulted some of my relatives to get an idea about the bus routes and fare. I was told about the blue lines, DTC and white line buses. That was the time before blue lines became killer lines. It was a hard job to remember all those data like bus numbers and almost every day I had to ask someone or other, which bus to take. But remembering the bus number was not the worst part of my journey to start.
Travelling in a bus in the busy morning and evening hours was the toughest thing I could have ever imagined. As I stepped inside a blue line bus in the busy morning hour, I thought my first concern would be to find a seat or rather a place to stand. It was not the only thing to worry about however. I found a man sitting on the seat reserved for women and expected him to stand up. But it seemed he did not realise he was on the wrong seat so I asked him politely to get up. What followed was an angry look and an excuse I now realise is customary. “I have hurt my leg I cannot stand madam” he said. Taking it as a part of everyday life in Delhi, I prepared myself to stand for the rest of the journey which was supposed to last for an hour or so. But the thing that troubled me more than the physical exertion was the mental torture I experienced in the crowd standing between so called honourable citizens looking for an excuse to come close to girls.
I thought this might the scene in the private buses and decided to travel only by DTC, but the harsh reality remained the same. It was rather disturbing to realise that our national capital has no transport system which could ensure safe and peaceful journey for women. My first impression of travelling in a bus was definitely not a pleasant one but it was a learning experience.
After sticking to auto-rickshaws for a while, I decided it wasn’t good for my pocket. Metro was for selected routes, unfortunately not in route I was travelling on. As all the Delhites do, I decided to make buses my friend for travelling.
I consulted some of my relatives to get an idea about the bus routes and fare. I was told about the blue lines, DTC and white line buses. That was the time before blue lines became killer lines. It was a hard job to remember all those data like bus numbers and almost every day I had to ask someone or other, which bus to take. But remembering the bus number was not the worst part of my journey to start.
Travelling in a bus in the busy morning and evening hours was the toughest thing I could have ever imagined. As I stepped inside a blue line bus in the busy morning hour, I thought my first concern would be to find a seat or rather a place to stand. It was not the only thing to worry about however. I found a man sitting on the seat reserved for women and expected him to stand up. But it seemed he did not realise he was on the wrong seat so I asked him politely to get up. What followed was an angry look and an excuse I now realise is customary. “I have hurt my leg I cannot stand madam” he said. Taking it as a part of everyday life in Delhi, I prepared myself to stand for the rest of the journey which was supposed to last for an hour or so. But the thing that troubled me more than the physical exertion was the mental torture I experienced in the crowd standing between so called honourable citizens looking for an excuse to come close to girls.
I thought this might the scene in the private buses and decided to travel only by DTC, but the harsh reality remained the same. It was rather disturbing to realise that our national capital has no transport system which could ensure safe and peaceful journey for women. My first impression of travelling in a bus was definitely not a pleasant one but it was a learning experience.
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