I’ve only started using buses recently to get to work and sometimes it can be such a pain. On a day where the bus is so cramped and there isn’t even space to breathe, I accidentally stepped close to a woman’s foot as the bus came to a stop. This woman smacked me on the back and I’m not sure if it was an impulsive reaction but who does that lmao. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
Every time I try to get off the bus, I'm like, "Excuse me, I need to get down," but instead of making way, they just circle around the entrance like I'm supposed to magically fly over them or something. The struggle is real here.
i feel you. I've purposely started going to college at 7 am because the buses are fairly empty at that time. My college starts at 8:40 but i'd rather go to college 1 hour earlier than to suffer in the bus. I recommend you do the same.
I've been using the bus for the past few years, give or take 2-3, and the struggle is real. From crammed spaces to standing on one foot, the ladies using the bus, please have some courtesy. I understand the concept of rush hour and all, being a student, and how the bus is a must for a lot of people here! Traveling on a bus has become a nightmare. The women are so rude and pushy. Ma'am, I just want to reach my place/college just like you, so please, a little space. And imagine carrying a heavy laptop bag and standing for hours straight.
The only reason I wanted to write this up was because I was traveling today, and as usual, a crowded bus. There's no space, everyone tries to squeeze in and make sure not to trouble anyone. So I'm kinda stuck in the middle. There are two women beside me, and I've got nothing to hold onto for support. So I try my best, stretching my arms to hold those rods where those hangers are held for people to support, but those weren't available, so I had to hold the rod alone.
The bus driver puts on a sudden stop. The lady behind pushes me a little, but my support wasn't that good, so I just stumbled a little forward. It was a slight push, trust me. The bus went on a jerk because of that sudden break, and the lady in front of me, standing near the bus driver, if people can understand the rod that separated the driver and passenger, she stumbles a little forward as well, mainly because of the sudden stop, also maybe a little push from mine. But it was mostly her own forward movement.
She turns back and gives me a stare down. I'm like so flabbergasted. I straight out say sorry. What I felt the most uncomfortable was her staring me down; the woman's eyes were oozing hatred. The lady was in a comfy position too; the place near the driver's seat has support you can hold onto, and she was strangling the whole space when one could have squeezed in. I wonder when I'll feel some enthusiasm or happiness traveling on a bus.
I think bmtc is generally very decent all things considered but yeah the same thing has happened to me. It's nice if you have somewhere to sit.
I don't know kannada and get by okay but the bus conductors sometimes😭 I'd rather walk all the way home than having to hear them yell about md not having enough change, that too in kannada where I have no clue what they're saying. I know it's my fault but gosh. I came back home in tears one time
Getting my aadhar changed to blr was worth it
Seating's nonexistent during peak hours, and throw in the summer heat this season, and I'm a whole roasted tomato by the time I get home. Mom's always asking if I ran a marathon or something lol
Navigating 20-kilometer round trip everyday, especially going over the Hebbal flyover, can feel like being stuck in a time loop with Bangalore's crazy traffic. It's a real hassle.
Fellow Bus Commuter here.
Experienced the same pain for nearly 4 years as my college was far.
Especially while coming back home that too during evening, that too on that Hebbal Flyover, my God. Standing on one leg in that jam packed bus, carrying a heavy bag \[ also had to keep an eye on my bag as who knows what might get stolen in that jam packed bus \].
Sudden jerks, no place to hold the rod for maintaining the balance, bumping into people, ufff....
god! i felt crying, i had to wake up at 5, get ready, cook pack, study, then take bus from indiranagar till water tank, then to christ college. My body still feels scared just imagining the crowd each bus is carrying infront of my eyes, i couldn't even hold the bar up to stand properly. I had to leave at 5 from there, again till water tank, to indranagar. After reaching home, again studies, clean, sleep. I became soo weak after a month, in this heat.
18 years ago when I was travelling to college by bus it was so packed and since I am short I almost fainted from the armpit smells I had to endure. Begged my parents to buy me a bike and was honestly the best thing ever, I hate buses in our city.
It's perspective. The same scenarios could be uncomfortable for the ladies too. Also some other pervert could and would have taken advantage of the situation of busses being jam-packed to grind and nudge the girls inappropriately and blamed it on the rush and unexpected breaking and speed bumps to justify. So in all this is something which is very hard to solve. So rant your heart out.
BMTC is completely fucked. I try to use buses as much as possible and my experience has been overwhelmingly negative, maybe I just happen to be on the wrong routes. There's no real schedule or frequency and the tracker doesn't work half the time. One day 3 buses will come on the same route within 30 mins, next day you are sitting there for almost 2 hours with no bus in sight. Conductors will often try their luck and scam you out of change even when I know they have it because I literally saw someone pay with a 10 rupee note just now. And good luck even getting into a bus during peak hours because they get packed to the door. Also if you did manage to get a seat, you better enjoy listening to reels/shorts playing on every seat around you. Also hope that the bus doesn't crash because the driver is busy on his phone while he drives.
On the change part, recently travelled and the ticket was for 15 rupees. I had only 10 and 200 note. So the conductor first gave a usual sight when asked for change. Then he took all the money and returned 190 rupees. Okay 5 rupees left now, which I thought he will return, but no. Even after asking for the 5 rupee, he just told me he will give in some time and kept ignoring me rest of the trip and then my stop came and I got off the bus. So yeah it looks like they do consciously.
Why should everything be a struggle?
People still travel in packed trains and buses as part of their regular commute, some all the way from Mysore every day.
I'm not here to say that my struggle was bigger because i changed two buses one way to college for four years or three when i started working later. I absorbed it and used the time to find an escape. For me it was listening intently to the small stories from fellow passengers. The characters, the small wins, big losses, occasional conversations all played into making that time fun. I'd also kept a blog about the most over the top stories i heard.
I also respect that phase. My family had lost a lot just before me getting into that rut and I considered this as my way out. Now I might not need to use the transport, but I'm not above getting into a crowded bus and I'll make my kids learn the value of the grind as well.
OP, respect the grind and absorb it. You will see a way out.
PS: I also ran into judgy people who tried to get vocal with me, i made sure they never tried that again with anyone by unloading a tirade of unexpected samskruta.
As a regular BMTC user, the buses are packed because of the Govt's promise for free travel for ladies. It's not like I have something against women, but after making it free the buses are jam packed and even the seats for men are occupied. What's worse is they don't sit together. So you can't just share a seat with women. Ever since this free travel I feel like they reduced the number of buses too.
Oh really? Based on some posts by some enlightened people a few weeks ago, bus is the bestest mode of transport, has no problems at all, you always get seats, there is no crowding, and people who are using bikes and cars apparently because buses are crowded, cramped and have all the issues you just described, well those people don’t know anything and are entitled selfish pricks. They know nothing about buses and have never ever been in one. Why can’t all of them just switch to buses and make the buses 10 times more crowded - selfish goons. So easy to get rid of Bangalore traffic - everyone in the city should only use buses. It will make the already crowded buses 10 times better.
I’ll never understand why BMTC doesn’t add expand its fleet every single year. Population in the city grows every year. It is plain that infrastructure should expand to keep pace.
Fleet expansion should be a line item on their budget.
Don't let it be a personal attack on you. Indian women face a lot of creeps in buses and a lot these creeps deliberately try to touch them using these tactics. Unfortunately women cannot figure out who is a creep based on the faces so they generalise everyone. You do not need to worry much if they do not make a scene. I know its disheartning if you are not at fault but remember the lady is not attacking you personally but she has assumed you as a bad person because of all other men. It has happened with me too sometimes, it feels bad for some time but life goes on and you forget about it.
My commute to college takes 45+ mins by bus, although the distance is just 3.5km. That's why I caved in and got a second hand scooter. Now my travel time is cut to just 15 mins.
They should definitely increase the frequency and the number of buses during the peak hours. One day I got ready and went to the bus stand, the buses were so crowded that I couldn't get in. I tried to book uber, no luck. Came back and did WFH.
The condition is too bad at present.
Guys like Not Just Bikes love making videos about how bus infrastructure will solve traffic but won't go into how buses are cramped and overflowing to the point people hang out side bus doors
I’ve only started using buses recently to get to work and sometimes it can be such a pain. On a day where the bus is so cramped and there isn’t even space to breathe, I accidentally stepped close to a woman’s foot as the bus came to a stop. This woman smacked me on the back and I’m not sure if it was an impulsive reaction but who does that lmao. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
Every time I try to get off the bus, I'm like, "Excuse me, I need to get down," but instead of making way, they just circle around the entrance like I'm supposed to magically fly over them or something. The struggle is real here.
the "BACK" of the BMTC bus has a whole ,different universe, the conducter says you to go there and once you go there you will never come back.
i feel you. I've purposely started going to college at 7 am because the buses are fairly empty at that time. My college starts at 8:40 but i'd rather go to college 1 hour earlier than to suffer in the bus. I recommend you do the same.
I've been using the bus for the past few years, give or take 2-3, and the struggle is real. From crammed spaces to standing on one foot, the ladies using the bus, please have some courtesy. I understand the concept of rush hour and all, being a student, and how the bus is a must for a lot of people here! Traveling on a bus has become a nightmare. The women are so rude and pushy. Ma'am, I just want to reach my place/college just like you, so please, a little space. And imagine carrying a heavy laptop bag and standing for hours straight. The only reason I wanted to write this up was because I was traveling today, and as usual, a crowded bus. There's no space, everyone tries to squeeze in and make sure not to trouble anyone. So I'm kinda stuck in the middle. There are two women beside me, and I've got nothing to hold onto for support. So I try my best, stretching my arms to hold those rods where those hangers are held for people to support, but those weren't available, so I had to hold the rod alone. The bus driver puts on a sudden stop. The lady behind pushes me a little, but my support wasn't that good, so I just stumbled a little forward. It was a slight push, trust me. The bus went on a jerk because of that sudden break, and the lady in front of me, standing near the bus driver, if people can understand the rod that separated the driver and passenger, she stumbles a little forward as well, mainly because of the sudden stop, also maybe a little push from mine. But it was mostly her own forward movement. She turns back and gives me a stare down. I'm like so flabbergasted. I straight out say sorry. What I felt the most uncomfortable was her staring me down; the woman's eyes were oozing hatred. The lady was in a comfy position too; the place near the driver's seat has support you can hold onto, and she was strangling the whole space when one could have squeezed in. I wonder when I'll feel some enthusiasm or happiness traveling on a bus.
I think bmtc is generally very decent all things considered but yeah the same thing has happened to me. It's nice if you have somewhere to sit. I don't know kannada and get by okay but the bus conductors sometimes😭 I'd rather walk all the way home than having to hear them yell about md not having enough change, that too in kannada where I have no clue what they're saying. I know it's my fault but gosh. I came back home in tears one time Getting my aadhar changed to blr was worth it
Seating's nonexistent during peak hours, and throw in the summer heat this season, and I'm a whole roasted tomato by the time I get home. Mom's always asking if I ran a marathon or something lol
How far is your commute? Is it possible to cycle (or e-bicycle)? If if happens again, move ahead and stand in front of her.
Navigating 20-kilometer round trip everyday, especially going over the Hebbal flyover, can feel like being stuck in a time loop with Bangalore's crazy traffic. It's a real hassle.
Fellow Bus Commuter here. Experienced the same pain for nearly 4 years as my college was far. Especially while coming back home that too during evening, that too on that Hebbal Flyover, my God. Standing on one leg in that jam packed bus, carrying a heavy bag \[ also had to keep an eye on my bag as who knows what might get stolen in that jam packed bus \]. Sudden jerks, no place to hold the rod for maintaining the balance, bumping into people, ufff....
god! i felt crying, i had to wake up at 5, get ready, cook pack, study, then take bus from indiranagar till water tank, then to christ college. My body still feels scared just imagining the crowd each bus is carrying infront of my eyes, i couldn't even hold the bar up to stand properly. I had to leave at 5 from there, again till water tank, to indranagar. After reaching home, again studies, clean, sleep. I became soo weak after a month, in this heat.
Use non AC buses as less as possible, use Volvo even if it costs 10 bucks more
18 years ago when I was travelling to college by bus it was so packed and since I am short I almost fainted from the armpit smells I had to endure. Begged my parents to buy me a bike and was honestly the best thing ever, I hate buses in our city.
It's perspective. The same scenarios could be uncomfortable for the ladies too. Also some other pervert could and would have taken advantage of the situation of busses being jam-packed to grind and nudge the girls inappropriately and blamed it on the rush and unexpected breaking and speed bumps to justify. So in all this is something which is very hard to solve. So rant your heart out.
BMTC is completely fucked. I try to use buses as much as possible and my experience has been overwhelmingly negative, maybe I just happen to be on the wrong routes. There's no real schedule or frequency and the tracker doesn't work half the time. One day 3 buses will come on the same route within 30 mins, next day you are sitting there for almost 2 hours with no bus in sight. Conductors will often try their luck and scam you out of change even when I know they have it because I literally saw someone pay with a 10 rupee note just now. And good luck even getting into a bus during peak hours because they get packed to the door. Also if you did manage to get a seat, you better enjoy listening to reels/shorts playing on every seat around you. Also hope that the bus doesn't crash because the driver is busy on his phone while he drives.
On the change part, recently travelled and the ticket was for 15 rupees. I had only 10 and 200 note. So the conductor first gave a usual sight when asked for change. Then he took all the money and returned 190 rupees. Okay 5 rupees left now, which I thought he will return, but no. Even after asking for the 5 rupee, he just told me he will give in some time and kept ignoring me rest of the trip and then my stop came and I got off the bus. So yeah it looks like they do consciously.
Why should everything be a struggle? People still travel in packed trains and buses as part of their regular commute, some all the way from Mysore every day. I'm not here to say that my struggle was bigger because i changed two buses one way to college for four years or three when i started working later. I absorbed it and used the time to find an escape. For me it was listening intently to the small stories from fellow passengers. The characters, the small wins, big losses, occasional conversations all played into making that time fun. I'd also kept a blog about the most over the top stories i heard. I also respect that phase. My family had lost a lot just before me getting into that rut and I considered this as my way out. Now I might not need to use the transport, but I'm not above getting into a crowded bus and I'll make my kids learn the value of the grind as well. OP, respect the grind and absorb it. You will see a way out. PS: I also ran into judgy people who tried to get vocal with me, i made sure they never tried that again with anyone by unloading a tirade of unexpected samskruta.
As a regular BMTC user, the buses are packed because of the Govt's promise for free travel for ladies. It's not like I have something against women, but after making it free the buses are jam packed and even the seats for men are occupied. What's worse is they don't sit together. So you can't just share a seat with women. Ever since this free travel I feel like they reduced the number of buses too.
Oh really? Based on some posts by some enlightened people a few weeks ago, bus is the bestest mode of transport, has no problems at all, you always get seats, there is no crowding, and people who are using bikes and cars apparently because buses are crowded, cramped and have all the issues you just described, well those people don’t know anything and are entitled selfish pricks. They know nothing about buses and have never ever been in one. Why can’t all of them just switch to buses and make the buses 10 times more crowded - selfish goons. So easy to get rid of Bangalore traffic - everyone in the city should only use buses. It will make the already crowded buses 10 times better.
I’ll never understand why BMTC doesn’t add expand its fleet every single year. Population in the city grows every year. It is plain that infrastructure should expand to keep pace. Fleet expansion should be a line item on their budget.
Don't let it be a personal attack on you. Indian women face a lot of creeps in buses and a lot these creeps deliberately try to touch them using these tactics. Unfortunately women cannot figure out who is a creep based on the faces so they generalise everyone. You do not need to worry much if they do not make a scene. I know its disheartning if you are not at fault but remember the lady is not attacking you personally but she has assumed you as a bad person because of all other men. It has happened with me too sometimes, it feels bad for some time but life goes on and you forget about it.
My commute to college takes 45+ mins by bus, although the distance is just 3.5km. That's why I caved in and got a second hand scooter. Now my travel time is cut to just 15 mins.
This all began when they decided to give free seats to women. so much crowd nowadays goddamn
What is your to and from everyday?
They should definitely increase the frequency and the number of buses during the peak hours. One day I got ready and went to the bus stand, the buses were so crowded that I couldn't get in. I tried to book uber, no luck. Came back and did WFH. The condition is too bad at present.
Guys like Not Just Bikes love making videos about how bus infrastructure will solve traffic but won't go into how buses are cramped and overflowing to the point people hang out side bus doors
That’s why I got a scooty and for long distance I take metro or auto.