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Should public transport continue to be a government monopoly?

Prajagale'

You have all seen the most exhaustive range of arguments for and against the opening up of the public bus transport servivces sector to private players. Perhaps, it's time now to guage what the thinking of the 'Prajagalu' is. I now look forward to your participation in this quick poll, on the very core issues involved.


Comments

murali772's picture

ignorance and bliss

With free buses given to BMTC under JnNURM central govt

What's the point of getting into any discussions with people of this level of understanding?

Telecom privatization is different because our lives are not in danger because of that

Whenever the political situation goes on the boil in Kashmir, which has been fairly frequent over the last year, the first thing the administration does is to disable mobile phone connectivity (supposedly to prevent rumour mongering). And, you would still say telecom services don't hold potential for harm? And, not just with telecom, even with the other services, you can likewise find enough reasons (excuses) to argue whichever way you want.

I will limit my comments to just these most absurd of arguments put forth so far. The other points have already been discussed enough and more elsewhere on PRAJA, and if people still want to cling on to their views, it's their privilege.

 

Muralidhar Rao
murali772's picture

aen ree swaami baraetha iruvadu?

@ Anantram Sahibare'

The Mumbai BEST bus service is being run efficiently I believe.

Well, that was the general impression one had had so far. But, some people differ almost violently with that view - check the exchanges in the blog linked by me in the earlier post.

In Bangalore none other than IIM has completed Big-10 project.

Firstly, IIM has nothing to do with it. It's only a prof from IIM who is involved, in his individual capacity.

Why government project should not succeed?

That's quite a laugh! Are you serious when you ask that question?

How is Big 10 doing?

Revenue-wise, I have no idea. But, it is the only innovation that BMTC can be proud of. But, possibly because of the lobby battles going on within, BMTC seems to want to underplay its role, and may be even kill it by not providing the necessary linkages.

Muralidhar Rao
abidpqa's picture

Private buses should not be

Private buses should not be allowed because they do not follow the law. Overspeeding is a crime. If an accident is caused when overspeeding it is manslaughter. As long as the police is reluctant to charge under these laws, they should not be allowed. They not only violate laws, they also are not willing let the law to take its course. Telecom privatization is different because our lives are not in danger because of that. Long disance buses are also okay since they just cannot pickup people on the way. One problem with them is that they lobby against railways.

Even now, there are lots of private buses running to Kolar, Yelahanka etc. Those buses are not clean, they are loud, they have loud horns, and their engines are also too loud, maybe tuned for extra speed. The staff do not wear uniforms, etc. The Kolar buses wont allow passengers to get in for short routes like to KR Puram, which would at least be a PR exercise. Basically, they disregard laws. Besides they maybe lobbying against CRS; we do not know, because lobbying is not transparent.

Any way, privatization did not occur after consensus. If city buses are not privatized, it will be for a reason.

murali772's picture

explanatory note

This poll evolves out of the debate going on here, in addition to what had been going on here and elsewhere. I would like to add the following explanatory note to the 2nd query.

There's an argument that the opening up should happen only after the regulatory regime has been established and tested. The counter to that is that testing can happen only after what you are wanting to test is put in place first - meaning, you can start with as perfect a set of rules as you can think up, and perfect them even more as you go along.
 

Muralidhar Rao
rackstar's picture

JNNURM buses

With free buses given to BMTC under JnNURM central govt, private people will find it hard to compete. And setting up a regulatory authority should be non-issue as govt officials would love a new source of income.

As I had told before, only minibuses can be allowed to private people for safety of pedestrians and two wheeler riders. Allowing big buses to private drivers would be to let the hell break loose.

psaram42's picture

I Voted twice yes

 Surprisingly the double voting was accepted! 

The Mumbai BEST bus service is being run efficiently I believe. In Bangalore none other than IIM has completed Big-10 project. Why government project should not succeed? How is Big 10 doing?

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