The main means of transportation in India is public transport, buses contribute to most of it. Road transport corporation buses, either local or interstate, are frequently used by the public for travel. While driving heavy vehicles, there seems to be an increasing number of accidents involving heavy vehicles in many Indian cities.
Driver fatigue has received increased attention during recent years and is now considered to be a major contributor and is approximately responsible for 15-30% of all crashes [1]. However, little is known about challenges and pain points amongst city bus drivers.
Technological trends in the automobile industry have led to the modification of most vehicle systems thus making their use very easy, with improvements seen in vehicle safety, comfort, reliability and driving performance together with the reduction of fuel consumption and emissions in modern vehicles.
In a research survey conducted amongst Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Private city transport service bus drivers in Bengaluru discovered that clutchless (automatic) transmission should be the way forward for a better driver and ride experience.
This survey by Elastic Tree kicked off the first phase of a PAN-India study that looks to understand the pain points of bus drivers in urban cities. We chose the bustling city of Bangalore, touted as one of the most congested cities [2] in India by the Times of India for this exercise and we met the men behind the wheels of those familiar blue BMTC giants who were more than happy to tell us what they thought about safer driving, combating traffic rush hours and providing better ride comfort.
87% of the BMTC Bus drivers say clutchless (automatic gear shifts) transmission will be a game changer towards better driving practices and reduced fatigue
Findings revealed:
• 64% of bus drivers have more than 8 hours of work per day.
• 76% either feel stress or leg pain due to frequently changing gear and pressing the clutch.
• Only 13% of the current buses we surveyed randomly were clutchless (automatic transmission) systems.
• 87% of BMTC bus drivers prefer driving a bus with clutchless (automatic transmission) systems.
These important findings suggest the potential benefits of an automatic transmission for 6000+ city buses [2] that are part of Bengaluru’s transportation system. This shift would also play a key role in ensuring better driver health, safety and work-life balance, commuter comfort and reducing accidents.
Other important factors that stood out as critical but not as important to drivers were air conditioning, seatbelt, and music system.
For instance, more than 45% percentage of the surveyed sample said, that traffic jams affect their daily routine to a great extent. 76% of bus drivers using manual gears feel stressed due to pressing the clutch in heavy traffic. When asked, 87% of bus drivers prefer a clutch-less (automatic gear) system over a manual clutch system.
These associations were observed across both public and private driver segments and across age groups.
Half of the bus drivers using manual gear shift buses take medication to handle the stress caused due to work. With an average time of 8 hours spent driving and approximately 2 hours in traffic, manual gear shifts pose several problems such as insomnia, fatigue, muscular problems in the legs, hands and shoulders, blood pressure and digestion-related problems.
With buses still being an important and frequently used mode of transportation and revenue source as well for this high-tech metro, the automatic transmission offers drivers, bus owners and riders a much-needed respite from the hassles of stressful driving and a smoother ride experience. Perhaps, it is time for the familiar big blues of Bangalore to keep up with the times and technological progress, making public transportation in the city more desirable for those in service, and for commuters like us [3], as well.
External References:
1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mumbai-bengaluru-in-top-10-world-cities-on-congestion-parameters/articleshow/89447050.cms
2. https://www.timesnownews.com/bengaluru/bmtc-plans-to-induct-10-double-decker-ac-electric-buses-marking-the-return-of-double-deckers-on-bengaluru-roads-article-94228105
3. https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/to-bus-or-not-to-bus-58340