The name
says “Kakadbhitta Express,” but the bus is anything but an ‘Express.’ Sleeping
passengers are jolted awake every few minutes because the bus stops to pick up
local passengers, who are squashed into the bus until every inch of free space
is filled. As a result, the Express bus does not reach Kakadbhitta before one
in the afternoon, though it could be there by eight in the morning.
A decade
ago, this scene was common in any long-distance vehicle. Leaky roofs and
windows that did not close were other complaints passengers made. In fact, so
stressful was it to travel by these buses that those with even slightly above
averages means preferred to travel by plane.
But in the
past decade, long-distance travel has changed drastically. New breeds of
comfortable ‘Deluxe’ and ‘A/C’ buses have emerged. They seat 30 people instead
of the 42 that the regular night buses contained, which provides a lot of leg
room. Their doors and windows close tight, and some of them even distribute
water and peanuts. A few claim to have WiFi facilities too.
All things
considered, these buses have emerged as the alternatives to planes today.
Sushrika Thapa, 26, is a frequent traveler in night buses. “Deluxe buses are
more expensive, but they are worth it,” she claims. “They don’t take local
passengers, which makes me feel safer.”
Over the
years, the hygiene situation has improved too, restrooms and eateries in
particular. Sushrika agrees that while earlier women were forced to go to the
jungles for a toilet break, today there are well managed toilets with running
water on highways.
Food on the
highway is another aspect that has changed. Until a few years ago, buses would stop
at lonely eateries placed strategically in the middle of a jungle without any
option nearby. Passengers were forced to eat the indifferently prepared food of
questionable hygiene, with prices that exceeded all bounds of reason.
“Drivers and
conductors were led in for special dinners, because without their special
patronage, the eatery wouldn’t survive” remembers Pradeep Tamang, 36, who has
been a bus conductor for six years. “No matter what the passengers ate, the bus
staff would be treated to good, fresh meals.”
But today
there are so many options that the competition has forced buses and eateries to
improve standards for passengers. Bus staff may be treated to extra pieces of
meat, but passengers also report that they are satisfied with the quality and
freshness of the food on highways.
But one
thing that has not changed much is the entertainment in buses. The night-buses-of-old
had cassette players in which bus staff played songs of their choice: which
were invariably either dohoris or old Hindi songs. Today, songs are played via
MP3 players and pen drives. But the choice of songs remains the same. “The old
Kumar Sanu songs, I enjoy them a lot,” says Abbas Alam, 24, who travels once or
twice a month to Birgunj on these buses.
For bus
operators, the audio-visual entertainment is more to entertain the passengers
than themselves. “Nowadays you don’t even have to bother with songs, you can
just put on a movie and let the passengers relax,” says Ganesh Shrestha, 31,
office staff of Mero Transport. Though the bus staffs choose the entertainment,
they play the passengers’ choices if they give songs in portable devices.
With so
many facilities for travelers, the one thing that continues to impede their
travel experience is the roads. Suman Subedi, driver for 16 years, has driven
every kind of bus in this duration. He sums up the situation best when he says:
“Deluxe buses are faster than old night buses. But they reach their destination
slower, because the roads are so bad.” The buses may be new and improved, but
the passengers will not feel much better about them unless they can reach their
destination on time on good roads.
Despite the
advent of these luxury buses, the older kinds of long-distance buses are still
running too. One attraction is their price, which is Rs. 300-400 cheaper than Deluxe
buses. Besides, like planes, the Deluxe buses don’t carry much luggage. “They
don’t have hoods to tie up luggage,” says Pradeep, “and on long distance
travel, people will always need to ferry stuffs like rice and potatoes.”
The
proliferation of different kinds of buses has given travelers a wide range of
choices. Travelers can take their pick from different combinations of price
ranges and facilities like luggage, comfort, hygiene and safety.
What’s
in a name?
Even until
a few years ago, buses had sensible names like Agni and Makalu. But
increasingly, there is the trend of naming buses after Mumbai movies. ‘Dabbang,’
‘Bodyguard,, and ‘Chennai Express’ are just a few examples. There are also ‘Jai
Ho’ and ‘Singham’ Travels.
When probed
about these names, bus operators seemed to think they aid business. “These
buses run to border areas and rural villages,” says Ganesh Shrestha, office
staff of Metro Buses at Kalanki. “And they seem popular among the passengers.” Indeed,
most of the names belong to action movies that are known to be popular in rural
areas.
Of late,
there are many buses climbing the bandwagon. One bus to Dharan is called
‘Loveism’ which is not even the name of a movie but simply a name that may
attract youngsters. Indeed, the increasing number of buses with such attractive
names is proof enough that these buses are sustainable.
Life on
the move
If your
back is aching from spending one night in a bus, think of conductors who sleep
in a bus every night. “The bus departs from Kathmandu at four in the afternoon
and arrives at Itahari at six in the morning,” says Pradeep Tamang, a conductor.
“I spend a few hours at home, and then it’s time to leave. The bus departs from
Itahari again at four.”
Pradeep
gets no day off on weekends; he is on the move seven days a week, five weeks a
month. The only time he really gets to rest is when the roads are closed due to
strikes or landslides. At these times, he has spent up to a week at one place. Festivals
like Dashain are times of even greater pressure for buses, with a major chunk
of the Valley’s residents leaving for their native places. Bus companies hire
extra drivers and conductors during these times, so that everyone can take
turns to go home and celebrate with family. Pradeep is so tired of this
constant moving that he would like to retire from life as a conductor and do
some small business at home instead.
A driver’s
life is slightly easier in this regard. Since their job on the bus is more
stressful than a conductor’s, they only work for part of the way. Some buses
change drivers at Hetauda. This is more popular with buses that go east, which
have a high flow of buses and passengers. Drivers either live in Hetauda or are
provided a lodge to sleep in.
Buses that
go west are less frequent, and their drivers often don’t have permanent
arrangements at resting stops. Chhatra Bahadur Magar, 45, who drives a bus to
and from Baglung, shared that he and another driver came all the way from
Baglung, and they changed places midway. Either way, drivers and conductors are
constantly in need of rest and craving to spend time with their families.
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