Footboard Employees

It has been 4 months now since I started commuting by bus in Chennai. A real 45 minutes of experience from home to office every day. I enjoy each day of my travel with new scenarios each day, meeting new faces, same route, different ticket rates yet the destination is the same. Last week, I had a sudden flash in my mind, why not it be just compared with the current trend of IT organization.

I have given the below picture for illustrative purpose, so that we all have a common understanding. The text that appears Green refers to people on bus and the text in Blue refers to/for people in Organization

            

   The Driver     

 

The driver/owner of the bus/business, who sincerely drives the bus/business to its desired destination. He always feels that driving is the only responsibility of his job.

• He has the complete control over the opening and closing of the entry doors of the bus/business.
• He is least worried about the passengers/employees/Senior passengers/senior employees/women with a baby/any employee for that matter standing even while applying sudden brakes.
• He Will not turn back or check out on the passengers/employees even if there is some chaos inside the bus/business.

 The Conductor 

The conductor/Manager is the actual powerful person in the bus/business.

• He indicates the driver when to open/close the doors of the bus/business for the get-in/on-board and get-down/release of passengers/employees.
• He may (or may not) get up from his seat/location to collect/meet tickets from the passengers/employees. It becomes the duty of the passengers/employees to get/meet tickets for safe travel.
• He may (or may not) have the exact change to give back to the passengers, but he can stop the bus anytime and ask you to get down anywhere if you don’t have the exact fare/change.

  The Passengers in Seat  

• People who board the bus within a couple of stations may easily find a seat and occupy. For them the possibility of choosing a row/window seat is high.
• For those who board after that it is quite a challenge and it becomes mandatory that they should fit themselves in the available seat or keep standing.
• It is hard to find the person sitting comfortably (??) to get up and give his/her seat for an elderly/handicapped/woman with a baby.

  Foot boarded Passengers 

• These are people who have to accommodate themselves in the available space with their belongings as well.
• These people standing in the aisle will obviously be waiting for an opportunity to grab any emptying seat.
• The real challenge is when the bus is loaded with people. One should be lucky enough to stand close to the emptying seat so that, there is bright chance of grabbing the seat (‘cos someone else among the crowd will also be eyeing for the seat)
• It is very painful to know (yet, it is fact) that the rule of "Ladies" seat for ladies ONLY strictly applies here. Yet, I said it is painful because "Ladies can still occupy the places where it is NOT marked for Ladies. I sincerely urge the authorities to mark "For Men" markers on buses in near future.

You can have your own assumptions on my comparisons stated above. Yet, the point i wish to let know and also the conclusion of my article is, all those who travel in this bus including the driver and the conductor are subject to change due to various reasons, yet the bus/business remains the same.