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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Accidents up as DTC fleet driven dangerously -Rumu Banerjee

Accidents up as DTC fleet driven dangerously -Rumu Banerjee

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published Published on Apr 30, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 30, 2013
-The Times of India


NEW DELHI: With 9,787 regular and 4,447 contract drivers on its payroll, Delhi Transport Corporation has one of the largest resource pools in the city. Unfortunately, these drivers are calling attention to the corporation for all the wrong reasons. Since 2011, the number of accidents involving DTC buses has steadily gone up with a corresponding increase in fatalities.

Complaints of rash driving have been pouring in, prompting frequent notices by DTC on lane driving, stopping at bus stops and adherence to speed limits. Even so, the numbers paint a grim picture. In 2011, the number of accidents involving DTC buses was 89, leading to 90 deaths. The accidents dropped to 68 in 2012, only to shoot up this year-20 accidents and as many deaths were reported from January 1 to April 15. The number of prosecutions has grown from 7,014 in 2011 to 8,551 last year. More than 3,000 prosecutions have already been registered by DTC this year.

Ensuring lane discipline and compliance with speed limits has been concern for the DTC brass, claims DTC's spokesman Sharat Kumar. He says they deal with complaints as and when they come in. Insiders say internal memos have been served to the operational staff, including depot managers and the senior staff, without much effect. The complaint cell fields grievances, ranging from buses not stopping at designated bus stops to drivers scraping other vehicles, every day. For the increasing complaints, sources in DTC blame the substandard hiring and verification system, the prevalence of Blueline bus drivers as well as inherent flaws in the contractual system, which rewards speeding and overtime by drivers.

Prevalence of Blueline drivers

According to Kumar, records of the drivers' previous jobs are not maintained as long as they are qualified. This includes education till Class X, a heavy motor vehicle driving licence, public service vehicle badge and passing the mandatory medical test, including an eye test. A chat with any of the contract drivers shows many of them have driven Blueline buses. Narender (name changed), who has been a contractual driver with the DTC for more than a year, says, "There's a severe crunch, so DTC has hired many of us on contract. At least we know the routes in Delhi, unlike the others from outside Delhi."

Narender and many of his colleagues who have received training said driving the buses on roads is a different ball game. "Though it's easier to drive these buses and the pickup is also better, many drivers tend to forget the buses take more space," says another driver.

Kumar says drivers, especially those on contract, have to undergo mandatory training at any of the government-approved training schools. After protests by contract drivers, the government now pays the daily wage to the drivers during the training. Refresher courses every six months to a year are also mandatory to retain the licence.

The reality though is vastly different. Drivers may pass the skill test as well as the training but their behaviour on road is not satisfactory. DTC sources blame the acute shortage of drivers as well as the absence of digitized records of the drivers' performance. "If a driver's contract is cancelled, there are various other agencies willing to take them. Most of these men know that," says a senior DTC official.

There is no digitization of the personnel or complaint records at DTC. Each complaint is written in the driver's record maintained by the depot manager. Not surprisingly, discrepancies abound, with much depending on the depot manager.

Contract flaws

According to DTC's rules, contract drivers are paid by the kilometre-for the first 2,250km, they get Rs 4 per km, after that distance the rate goes up to Rs 5 up to 4,500km. There is a performance incentive of Rs 3,000 a month. For most drivers, the emphasis is on clocking as many kilometres as possible. Many also work overtime. Compromising of safety is not the drivers' concern, say DTC sources. "Most of them work overtime for weeks. This obviously affects their reflexes," admits a DTC official.

Lack of proper testing

While on paper, all drivers undergo medical tests, these tests are apparently manipulated. Those unable to pass the test by the DTC medical board can appeal and get a certificate from an approved government hospital. Recently, more than 400 drivers were forced to undergo mandatory eye-testing, with many failing the exam. Also, it was only a few years ago that a section on colour blindness was added in the medical test.

New Delhi: Till 2009, Delhi Transport Corporation recruited its own drivers. The procedure involved a skill test, a month long training on a bus and then a qualifying test. In 2010, the Delhi government decided to make it mandatory for DTC to recruit its drivers through Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) -an umbrella recruitment service that provides personnel to all arms of the government, from health through education to transport.

"Till the time recruitment was with DTC, there was at least a proper skill test conducted. DSSSB trains drivers on simulators, which is fine for theoretical knowledge. But when they come to DTC, these drivers have little know-how on driving buses on the road," says a DTC official.

And though DTC puts them through the paces-it conducts a skill test, medical test and then a five-day training, few are rejected. "We have to hire drivers through DSSSB, we can't reject them. The only qualifying test we can take is the skill test," says the official.

Old DTC hands say that till 2009 drivers would be trained under actual road conditions. Put on probation for over a year, they had to go through a rigorous six-month probationary period during which they would be on daily wages before they were allowed on longer routes. Now, the training is only one week long.

With a salary range of Rs 14,000-30,000 per month, driving in DTC is a lucrative option. However, recruitment through the board has come in for criticism, especially after DSSSB was involved in a scam earlier in 2011-12. Drivers with fake driving licences issued in Manipur, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh got through, resulting in Delhi Police lodging cases against some officials.

It's not just the spotty recruitment practices of DSSSB that has earned it a bad reputation.

Of the existing 15,000-odd drivers in DTC, a majority-over 70%-are either drivers hired through DSSSB or on contract. According to sources, accident rates show half the incidents are by DSSSB drivers. For instance, in 2011, of the 89 accidents reported, a whopping 30 were by DSSSB drivers while another 30-odd were by those on contract. The following year, the number of DSSSB drivers in accidents was 30, compared to 25 by those on contract. Yet, in the past two years, most of the drivers fired by DTC are those on contract. "Sensitization programmes as well as training modules are wasted on them... these drivers are only looking to become permanent staff after the two-year period," says the official.

A senior DTC official said, "The DSSSB drivers have little to fear since they are discharged only once the case is decided against them. Till then, most are allowed to continue driving. At most, an inquiry is commissioned and a chargesheet filed, with some being suspended if too many complaints pile up against them." In contrast, drivers on contract are fired whenever they are involved in a fatal accident.

DTC spokesperson Sharat Kumar claims accidents cannot be avoided. "But for two years, we have received the safest transport service award in India. The percentage of accidents involving DTC buses is still much less," he said.

 

The Times of India, 30 April, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Accidents-up-as-DTC-fleet-driven-dangerously/articleshow/19792221.cms


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