21L Retaliations on Footboard Travels

21L Retaliations on Footboard Travels

Sometime back we were discussing about an interesting footboard traveller in 51L. Yesterday, while travelling to work by 21L, it was quite a similar situation. With the bus being relatively free, about three persons were very much persistent in sticking themselves to the footboard as if they were strongly glued to them.

The conductor really got intimidated and started shouting and then these guys came up. On close watch of the conductors' shoutings the following were deduced and observed:

1. Footboard Travellers are menace in terms of security aspects. Pocket-pickers mostly haunt pickboards. If you keep clinging to footboard, sooner or later, you may need to bid adieu to your wallet. We have some tips from escaping pocket-pickers here.
2. Footboard Travellers are societal menace. If they trip and fall down, they cause the following hardships.
1. Even if the injury is small or fatal, the bus has to be taken to the police station and case filed. This way the otherwise innocent bus crew and thier family experience unprecedent financial turbulence.
2. The chaos on the roads persist at least for two hours to six hours, thanks to the significant road mismanagements in Chennai, leading to normal life disruption.
3. I remember, once a conductor was saying to his colleague that he would not issue tickets to footboard travellers unless they come up, since with the ticket if they fall and meet thier end, it means problem to them since that person has travelled in the bus. This, I appreciate, should be followed by all buses and can be considered to made as statute.
4. I have seen cops charging lathi on footboard travellers sometime back in main places like Camp Road, Meenakshi College (Kodambakkam) but for the past three months I could not see any of them in action.