Loss-making NMMT attracts passengers with promises of courteous drivers and conductors
Loss-making NMMT attracts passengers with promises of courteous drivers and conductors
They say good manners never fail to impress and officials of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) are putting it into practice. Their politeness drive is attracting more passengers to AC buses on the Bandra-Belapur route.
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The route, which was started in mid-July, initially drew only 1,600 passengers per day against the expected 5,000.
Deciding to curb their overall losses of around Rs 55 to 60 lakh every month, NMMT hit upon the idea of giving special training in good manners to their drivers and conductors on the route.
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Once the politeness initiative came into effect on September 1, the route has been seeing 4,500 passengers every day.
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We sent the drivers and conductors of our AC buses for special training to Bangalore (see box).
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We have received favourable feedback from passengers, thanking us for the good service." The initiative has been so successful that the NMMT plans to increase the number of buses plying on the route from 10 to 30.
Sales manager Pravin Kumar, who often travels on the Bandra-Belapur route, said he was pleasantly surprised with the conductor's behaviour.
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"When I was about to alight, the conductor asked me if I had enjoyed the trip. Generally, this is the not the way bus conductors treat us," added the Sanpada resident.
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Agreed Poonam Singh from Belapur, "This is the best service I have ever had. The conductors and drivers are polite and answer our queries with a smile."
Rude Conductor
Last year, 15-year-old Ameesh Jaisinghani was on his way to give his SSC exams when he was beaten up by a bus conductor simply because he didn't have enough change for ticket.
Ameesh had alleged, "I gave a Rs 50-note. The conductor asked me to give change or threatened to throw me off the bus."
The conductor, Shailesh Waghmare, later accepted a Rs 100-note, but started abusing Ameesh. When Ameesh alighted near Mira Road station, Waghmare u00a0got off too and started slapping him.
As a result, Ameesh broke his arm. He couldn't write his exam paper and had to be rushed to surgery.
Course In Courtesy
For eight days, officials from Volvo India in Bangalore trained drivers to better their skills. They trained conductors in good manners, to stay calm while handling pressure and to respect passengers.
Billappa Birajdar, a conductor on the Bandra-Belapur route, said, "We were taught to respect passengers, talk to them politely, answer their queries calmly and get their feedback on the trip."
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