Bus Stand

Introduction
As we approached the bus stop we had mixed feelings, of doubt and curiosity about what we would find and discover. All of us expected a scene of noise, pollution and confusion. But we were pleasantly surprised to find quite a lot of order in the chaos. The assignment also offered us a unique opportunity of observing human behaviour in a large and busy hub of state transport. If the roads are the life line of a country, the buses are the blood and vein. Standing at the Alambagh bus stop we witnessed a vast variety of human beings being transported or waiting to be transported to their varied destinations. A large number of buses stood in an orderly queue awaiting departure, while others were arriving with their cargo of passengers eager to debark after their long journey.

Study of Observations
Following are some of the aspects of human behaviour and human achievement which we observed during our visit to the Alambagh bus stop:Infrastructure: - It was a huge ground and there were 15 buses standing in orderly fashion. All the basic facilities seemed to have been provided for at the bus station. There was a coffee shop, juice counter, book stalls P.C.O, ticket counter, cafeteria, mobile shop, water facility, enquiry office, fruit stall and an air conditioned waiting room. There was also a good parking facility. There were a number of dustbins for disposal of waste. But in spite of these dustbins and numerous sign boards requesting the public to keep the bus depot clean, most people were still littering the place with wrappers and polythene showing a deplorable lack of civic sense. People and their activities: - There was not dense crowd of people coming and going, or waiting for their buses. They represented large strata of society. Some of their activities gave us an insight into human behaviour in public. 1. A man waiting for his bus was sleeping on the bench occupying the space designed for four persons. This showed a complete disregard for fellow passengers' convenience. As all the benches were occupied many people were sitting on the floor to wait for their bus. This was also due to poor seating arrangement. 2. A man was reading a book that showed good utilisation of time. 3. 2-3 people were enjoying coffee and juice and passing the time in socialising.

4. Though most of the passengers had boarded, sometimes a bus was unable to depart due to the laxity of some passengers who did not understand the value of time and arrived late causing inconvenience to all. 5. Some children were passing the time in playing games and exploring the bus depot. They showed a lively curiosity and energy that was heartening to observe. 6. Some people were seen smoking even in the no smoking zone showing a complete disregard for rules and others convenience. 7. In spite of regular announcements about departure and arrival of buses and their destinations, the conductors were still shouting out these details for late comers. This added to the general confusion and chaos. 8. Most passengers were having a minimal amount of luggage particularly students who were mostly empty handed showing a happy go lucky attitude. The exceptions were passengers moving in family groups who had a large amount of baggage. 9. Some people were constantly talking on mobile phones or listening to music and missing important announcements. Then they would land up at the enquiry office with demands for information, creating inconvenience and delay. This showed a careless and casual attitude. 10. Complete strangers were engaged in brisk conversations showing the human tendency to socialise and interact with others. The downside was that too much familiarity with strangers can sometimes lead to undesirable situations. 11. One family had brought their pet which showed care and thoughtfulness on their part. However it caused some inconvenience to other passengers. 12. In spite of good parking facility many people were parking their vehicles haphazardly and in the wrong places causing inconvenience to traffic. This again showed carelessness and a casual disregard for rules. 13. Some students who seemed to be en route to appearing for some exam, were utilising the time to study showing a sense of sincerity and dedication. 14. Civic minded people were placing their luggage in the cabin to avoid overcrowding inside the bus. 15. A few people were carrying home cooked food on board showing a tendency to suspect outside food. However it also showed a care for consuming only healthy and hygienic food. 16. People were utilising the time by working on laptops and reading newspapers in the waiting room showing a high regard for value of time.

17. Some shopkeepers were offering prayers before opening their shops that seemed to show a religious attitude. However it was later revealed as hypocrisy because these same shopkeepers did not hesitate to charge exorbitant prices for their commodities, and to cheat their customers in every possible way in order to earn a higher profit. They even did not hesitate in offering adulterated and contaminated food to the passengers, showing a very human greed and lack of concern for basic health and hygiene. 18. Various types of vendors were engaged in touting their wares creating more noise. Unauthorised vendors were creating more inconvenience by getting in the way of passengers running for their buses.

Administration: - on the whole the administration at the bus stop was quite good. Our observation revealed the following: 1. The seating arrangement for waiting passengers was inadequate so passengers were sitting on the floor, grumbling and complaining about lack of facility, but still refusing to utilise the waiting room showing a strange and perverse behaviour. 2. Frequent announcements were being made about departure and arrival of buses from different points. This showed care and concern of the authorities for passengers convenience. However due to echo and because of the general noise sometimes the announcements were not clear nor very helpful. In fact they added to the general air of confusion. People seemed to be attending more to the loud horns of the buses and shouts of the conductors. 3. The platform was being regularly swept showing a regard for cleanliness and hygiene but still people were creating litter resulting in insanitary conditions. 4. Coolies were there for helping the passengers with their luggage but it was observed that people preferred to carry their own luggage. There were 2 possible reasons for this: a) Many people particularly students were travelling light. b) People seemed to be suspicious of the coolies and were reluctant to entrust their baggage to them. 5. Entry of pets was discouraged because of passengers inconvenience. Thus there was only 1 family observed with the pet.

6. Only Missing Persons or Wanted posters are allowed in the bus depot that too with the station masters approval. However we observed persons putting up advertisement posters with no one to check them, again showing human tendency to ignore rules. 7. The enquiry office was dealing with passenger enquiry as well as offering assistance to passengers who had become separated from their families or were missing their children, showing care and concern of the authorities. 8. Conductors were cleaning the buses before the next trip showing dedication to duty and maintenance of hygiene. 9. There was a staff member of UPSRTC assigned to keeping a record of passengers entering and leaving the waiting room, but she was not at her post when we visited the place. This showed carelessness and casual attitude. 10. Traffic police were posted outside the depot but were unable to control the traffic for several reasons: a) The road lanes leading in and out of the depot were quite narrow resulting in jams and traffic snarls. People were not following traffic rules making the situation worse. This shows their irresponsible and selfish behaviour. Tempers were also running short. b) The taxi, auto and rickshaw stands were in close proximity and people were engaged in bargaining for intra-city transport resulting in further confusion and crowding. The concerned parties showed least concern for each other in their own selfish greed and miserliness bargaining for pennies. c) The traffic police showed a casual and lackadaisical attitude in the performance of their duty showing little or no concern for resolving the issues.

Common Nuisances:1. The constant honking of horns was adding to the noise pollution. However this was a necessary nuisance to some extent to warn passengers about imminent departure of buses and also to warn people out of the way. However there was quite a lot of unnecessary horn blowing due to impatience of drivers also.

2. People had covered their faces to protect themselves from pollution. Air and noise pollution were at a premium. However the public seemed to be quite immune to the situation preferring to protect themselves rather than the environment. 3. Beggars were a major nuisance trailing passengers with their importunate demands. They were also a security hazard as they did not stop at begging only but indulged in petty thefts and pick pocketing. 4. Passengers were particularly wary of chain and purse snatchers who were eager to relieve them of their belongings for their personal gains.

The above 2 points show increased criminal activity in crowded public places.

Recommendations
1. People should be educated in the use of dustbins and the value of attending to rules by the use of posters, captions and banners, etc. 2. There should be penalties for infringement of rules such as fines or warnings. 3. Instead of conductors shouting out details of departure for late coming passengers, a display board should be instituted to display departure and arrival timings in the font, large enough for passengers to get desired information. Display maybe bilingual. 4. Suspicious passengers especially with fewer luggages should be scrutinised carefully. 5. Separate seating area should be maintained for passengers with pets. 6. UPSRTC should increase security personnel for checking entry to the bus depot, only passengers with valid tickets should be allowed entry. Thus limiting the nuisance of beggars and criminals. Security staff can also ensure that rules are followed. 7. Wrongly parked vehicles should be strictly dealt with. 8. Authorised vendors should only be allowed. 9. Proper seating arrangement should be made for passengers. 10. Proper maintenance of facilities such as waiting rooms should be air conditioned.

11. Road lanes should be widened. 12. Taxi, auto and rickshaw stands should be shifted, not too far but at sufficient distance to prevent traffic snarls. 13. Fares of taxi, auto as well as rickshaws should be fixed to prevent the need for bargaining. 14. Buses and other vehicles should be checked for pollution control. Excessive use of horns should also be discouraged.