An Indian bus commuter's story

 

Jeevan was a middle - class Bangalorean. He had spent his adolescence and young adulthood in Bangalore. That was the period in which the city saw a boom in real estate, and expanded rapidly in all directions. The city planners could hardly keep pace with the city's growth. For years, buses were the sole providers of public transport, and could hardly meet the needs of the residents. Most of the residents chose to buy a scooter, a motorbike or a car to be able to reach their workplace on time. Paradoxically, this resulted in a drastic increase in the number of vehicles on the roads, and made the daily commute slower than before.

Unfortunately, Jeevan had not made himself accustomed to riding a scooter or a motorbike in the new scenario. He had had a bicycle during his college days, when the roads were relatively calm. After his studies, Jeevan got a job in a software company. The company provided buses to employees, and Jeevan was one of those who chose to make use of this.

After a few years, Jeevan got a job in another company that had an office at the opposite end of the city. Due to not being comfortable on a motorbike or a scooter on Bangalore roads, he began commuting by the city's bus transport service. The bus service was about a decade behind where it should have been. Buses on most routes were packed, with hardly any space for commuters to breathe. Still, Jeevan thought it was better than sweating in the sun and inhaling exhaust fumes while riding to work on a motorbike.

The constant physical discomfort due to lack of room on the city buses, and the delay due to constant traffic jams, caused a mental constriction in Jeevan. He began experiencing a lack of space in almost every situation. In addition, he began thinking there was no time for any personal activity. Jeevan slowly shelved his dreams of making it big in his profession and in his personal life.

Every project came with its own timeline. Each task came with a deadline. 'Have you completed (the most recent task)?' became a constant question in Jeevan's work life. The joy of developing software got swamped by the constant rush to get things done before the time when it was expected to be completed. The excitement of learning something new was overshadowed by the need to put it to a use quickly.

Meanwhile Jeevan continued using the bus service. Every day, he switched buses at the City Bus Station, to reach his office. This was built on what used to be a lake bed. During the monsoon, the Bus Station would get flooded. Buses would halt near the exit, because each bus took longer than usual to leave the Station. As a result, the travel time increased drastically.

Jeevan accepted this state of affairs and continued using the bus service. Over a period of time, this led to dissatisfaction with the job. He lived in a decent locality and had made a few friends and acquaintances whom he met at least once in a few weeks. Most of his relatives also lived in the same part of the city where he lived. Moreover, his parents were getting older, and he could not bear the thought of settling away from them, having lived with them for decades.

The only option was to switch jobs. Jeevan began the arduous search for a job for which his skillset provided a good fit, and which met his expectations at least partially. After a dozen interviews, the day finally dawned when he found the right position at the right company! They had four Development Centres in Bengaluru, and Jeevan was asked to work at the Centre that was just over half an hour's drive away! Jeevan could work from home for up to three days of the week! Moreover, he could opt for flexible hours, as long as his team did not face any inconvenience due to it. The salary was also up to his expectation. Yes, the company expected superlative performance from him, and he would have to learn new technologies continually. This was something Jeevan was prepared for.

Jeevan gladly accepted this offer. He gradually forgot the painful commuting experience of the past decade. Slowly but surely, he regained confidence in himself. He constantly learned new technologies on the job, earning plaudits from customers. This led to Jeevan's promotion to the position of Senior Architect. Jeevan had at last created a virtuous cycle for himself, and by extension, for his family!