Bangalore BMTC - A different route

Travelling by the local bus is not what anyone might want to do in Bangalore. But, the hectic car drives and the resulting frustration everyday led me to try the bus experience first hand and it definitely was different from the expected.

The dents, the rather frequent verbal fights, the unstopping honks and the resulting agony every day had reached the peak last week when I decided it was best to try the local buses. This meant making sure I got off the house with my wife each morning such that she could drop me off at the nearest bus stop (about 2 kms away). All good; she didn't appear to mind.

'305' BMTC was the first bus which came around in under 5 minutes of the wait. Hai! empty seats all the way! Surely, it could not be this easy a travel? In fact it got better. Once you made yourself comfortable, you had around 30 mins of total free time which could be spent on anything from reading books, more sleep or just watch the fanatic car owners drive by. Peace reigns while thoughts take a different route when thinking about the rather active life around you. You start to observe the fellow passengers and the local life you see outside. You start getting the odd feeling of being one among them, though the language still appear to be a barrier. A smile appeared to bring down the strangeness before you kicked off your local language skill with the youngster beside you.

It was still better when you travelled after the days work. This appeared to be one great place to unwind each day. Thankfully, I appeared to find a free seat each time and settle down soon. The only cause of worry was the 2 km walk from the bus stop to home in case my wife had left her office earlier (could she not wait a bit longer ?!). But then, I could always take the auto-rickshaw if the walk got too tiring.

This travel has got more to offer while bringing down the traffic & pollution and peace at home & work. In total, you are exposed to a new world of life which you would have never imagined during your ritual honks and curses. This bus travel has a lot to teach everyone and think.