Editorial»
Micro buses! Nae
DEC 09 - They say public transportation in Kathmandu has undergone a revolution. Smoke-belching Vikram tempos have already been chased out of the valley. Their cousins, petrol-powered tempos, are also going to face a similar fate. Into the valley have come brand new microbuses of small sizes. I smelled cleaner air after Vikram tempos were driven out. However, being a motorcycle rider, I never had an opportunity to have a first-hand taste of this new automotive revolution till a few days ago.
I had to leave my motorcycle at an auto-workshop for a routine check-up. To return home, I boarded a microbus. All the seats inside were occupied. The conductor asked me to take a seat near the door, which could accommodate only half of my bottom. Every time when someone alighted or got in, I had to straighten up and retract my limbs to clear the way.
The micro environment was unique. People were crammed up like sticks in a matchbox. They were seated very close to each other. A foreigner might mistake it as affection among strangers. But we know where the shoe pinches. All window ~ ~ anes were shut to keep away the cold and dust, which also effectively prevented entry of even an atom of air into the bus.
A middle-aged man at my side looked up in the ceiling with a queer countenance. I thought he was having pain somewhere. Before I jumped to a conclusion, the man sneezed releasing trillions of micro-organisms into the air. Seated so near to the man suffering from common cold, I inhaled the maximum number of viruses. The man repeated the ritual for at least three times before he finally got off at his destination. Because of the confined environment, everybody got a fair share of viruses.
I remembered the bad old Vikram tempos with nostalgia. Raucous sound and thick black smoke forgotten for a while, their interior was healthier. Without a door and with window ~ ~ without panes, air circulated freely in and out. Extra pollution from both alimentary and respiratory tract was effectively diluted forthwith with clean air from outside. In fact, dilution is a solution to pollution to some extent. Such automatic mechanism of pollution control is conspicuously absent in microbuses.
Electric tempos, though fitted with automatic pollution control mechanism, are not my cup of tea either. When I am in a hurry, I feel like getting off and pushing it from behind. I wonder why they can’t run faster.
Sajha and trolley buses are spacious but are not available everywhere. Their life span seems to be uncertain too. The latter is already giving headache to its operators with a loss of two hundred thousand rupees every month. And there are mini-buses plying the roads of Kathmandu. You may get a seat if you are lucky but most of the time one has to be content standing. I have seen some people being sexually abused in a subtle manner, in these buses.
My bike is the best. It is fast and reliable. I can always manoeuvre it to bypass the never-ending traffic jams. Most of all, it is always at my disposal except when it has to be left in a workshop for maintenance.Posted on: 2003-12-10 04:21
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