Noida: Every Friday evening, Javed travels home to Agra. This Friday, too, he waited for a bus in Noida, but the timing and ritual had changed. Munching on a packet of jhalmuri, Javed stood at the Sector 37 stop, waiting for a UPSRTC bus instead of the usual air-conditioned private coaches he would hop on to.“My family told me not to travel on private AC buses after the fire. I agree. I’ve never heard of a govt bus catching fire, so I have made my decision. I am not taking a private bus again,” he said, echoing a concern voiced by many after a fire charred a Delhi-Mahoba sleeper bus on Yamuna Expressway earlier this week, killing nine passengers.Jitendra, who was headed to Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, said he had fewer govt bus options. He had reached the bus stop around 9 pm to catch a bus to Rath village in Hamirpur district, and had since been waiting on a bench outside the office of Chauhan Travels in Sector 37. “After purchasing tickets, I was told to wait with other passengers for around 30 to 45 minutes before the operator would take us in autos or e-rickshaws to an area behind the travel agency to board the bus,” he said. The place, he said, is deserted and poorly lit. “There is no light. It is scary if a woman is travelling alone,” he said.Overnight private buses help thousands of people travel between Delhi and states like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal, promising air-conditioned comfort at budget rates. With flights expensive and train tickets hard to get, these buses remain the most viable options despite misgivings about safety.TOI this week found blatant safety violations during a random walkthrough of private sleeper coaches, including jammed emergency exits and bikes and scooters — with fuel in their tanks — being loaded into the luggage compartments.“I saw passengers come with electric fans, tyres and even gas stoves packed in plastic bags, and everything is loaded into the luggage compartment without question,” he said.Beni Prasad, who was travelling from Sector 37 with his wife Babli to Maudaha, about 550km away, via Yamuna Expressway, said they had heard about the bus fire and were wary for their safety. “The only thing is private buses are cheaper and generally on time,” he said, adding that if some risk came with that convenience, they were prepared to take it.For Babli, though, the fire had changed something. She had planned to travel alone on Friday night, as she had many times before, but changed her mind after seeing pictures of the burnt bus. “I got so scared that I asked Beni to come along,” she said.Near Chilla Border, passengers wait along the road or outside New Ashok Nagar metro station to board buses bound mostly for Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi. Faiz, a Sector 49 resident headed to Lucknow, said he paid Rs 800 for a one-way ticket, a little higher than what he would have to shell out for a UPSRTC AC bus, which generally ranges from Rs 719 to Rs 749 and upwards depending on the specific class.Private buses remained attractive, he said, because they save time and tend to be cleaner. Some private luxury rental fleets run by Chauhan Travels and Kailash Travels also offer onboard washrooms. “We can board these buses from anywhere on the route if we know the timings,” he said, but flagged safety risks.“Drivers and passengers often smoke near the buses just before departure. It is risky, but nobody seems to care,” he said.For women travelling alone, the anxiety went beyond fire. Ritu and her sister, who were waiting for their cousin before setting off for Etawah, shared that crashes or fires were not the top concerns. “Safety is. Bus pick-up points are usually deserted and poorly lit. These buses also stop at dhabas midway, where passengers can get snacks or use the toilet. These are also unsafe,” she said.Asked whether the bus carried hammers to break toughened glass or fire extinguishers on board, Kailash Travels operator Vinod Kumar said the vehicle was fitted with sliding windows. “If something were to happen, passengers can use it to jump out of the bus. We also do not allow anyone to smoke or drink on the bus. We make sure that the driver remains alert at all times. This is the best we can offer,” he said.Another bus operator, Mahalaxmi Travels Limited, located near Botanical Garden gate 2, which runs over 400 buses to Rajasthan, UP and MP, said that following the Sept 23 fire, they had become cautious and now ask passengers not to travel with smoking lighters. “Since we are a big agency, we ensure that the fitness of the vehicle is not compromised. It is thoroughly checked every day,” its manager said.
