Route No. 230 + Khanna crossing = 3 accidents in 10 weeks. Cops probe why

  • | Friday | 15th March, 2019

KOLKATA: Three accidents between Khanna and Maniktala this year, two of them fatal, have involved buses on the same route — 230. TimesView The same factors may not be responsible for all accidents involving buses; there may be route- or area-specific problems. Chennai and Kolkata drivers were considered for this training. The 22km route is now serviced by 60 buses, but the accidents in which its drivers are getting involved have now brought this popular route under police scanner. But after 2007, no real effort was made to continue the course,” Banerjee said.“There hasn’t been any route rationalization in Kolkata despite our consistent demand.

TimesView The same factors may not be responsible for all accidents involving buses; there may be route- or area-specific problems. Traffic cops may want to look at these factors. KOLKATA: Three accidents between Khanna and Maniktala this year, two of them fatal, have involved buses on the same route — 230. The 22km route is now serviced by 60 buses, but the accidents in which its drivers are getting involved have now brought this popular route under police scanner. According to cop sources, they have now begun identifying several routes like the 230 to train the drivers that ply their buses on them to stop further accidents.Police sources said there were several reasons why this stretch has become so accident prone. Firstly, the route has a very high frequency of buses. “The usual gap between two buses — especially during peak office hours — is less than 10 minutes. It goes up to 15-20 minutes in the non-peak hours. Additionally, several other private bus routes service the same sector. This leads to excessive unhealthy competition,” said an officer.Officers said the drivers on this route were under-trained and there was high attrition, which added to the problem.The common traffic rules that the drivers on this route violate include irregular lane changes, illegal overtaking and, most importantly, trying to pick up and drop off passengers in the middle of the road, and blocking the path of other vehicles in the process.Tapan Banerjee of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate agreed with the police findings on high competition, but said the state was more interested in collecting fines than training the drivers. He also blamed the lack of refresher courses for drivers for the rule flouting.“We had covered 20,000 drivers under this course for nine years. Chennai and Kolkata drivers were considered for this training. But after 2007, no real effort was made to continue the course,” Banerjee said.“There hasn’t been any route rationalization in Kolkata despite our consistent demand. Since the Metro began operations, we are all competing for the same pie in this sector. While all across Kolkata, most of our sales happen on the two lowest-category tickets (Rs 7 and Rs 9), buses plying in this segment have to depend on passengers travelling short distances. Most long-distance passengers to central Kolkata prefer to use the Metro. Only those who want the last-mile connectivity to their places are our loyal passengers,” Banerjee added.A study by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Systems (DIMTS) and NGO Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), about two years ago, highlighted the “lack of route rationalization in Kolkata vis-à-vis other cities like Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.“In the absence of any travel data, existing routes are evaluated based solely on public demand. No specific scientific models — as used in other cities — are used here,” it had concluded. There was no scientific method of frequency adjustment, the report had said.

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