Majority of the people in Guwahati prefer travelling by the city bus because it is cheap, though not very safe. The local city bus charges only three-four rupees from passengers. Travelling by an auto on a regular basis becomes an expensive affair for the middle classes, or even anyone else.
If ever by chance you happen to travel by a local city bus make sure that you get hold of a proper seat because the drivers are very rough as far as driving is concerned. There is a probability of you falling down inside the bus itself if you are as unlucky like me. You may even land up breaking your bones or your teeth. But thanks to the almighty no such thing happened to me. Nevertheless, such bad days ironically give you a "good" experience.
One fine day I had just finished with my classes and I wanted to get back home as early as possible. As soon as I came out of my college I started looking for autos. But these auto drivers asked me for hundred and twenty bucks for just half a kilometer. I was irritated and therefore a friend of mine and I decided to take a bus.
Unfortunately, all the buses were very crowded that day. But we still somehow managed to get inside one of the buses. There were no seats. So we had to stand and wait for some one to disembark before we got a seat. The bus took off at its speed and suddenly the driver had to brake suddenly. I lost my balane and fell, hurting my toe in the process.
An old woman who had occupied a seat, offered me hers noticing that I hd injured myself. The bus continued to speed up. Few minutes later, another woman too lost her balance and fell when the driver braked again. As soon as we reached Zoo Road area, my friend and I immediately got off to avoid further mishaps. Another woman who had just put her foot forward to get inside the bus too fell off and injured herself badly since the bus had begun moving without letting the passengers board.
From that day onwards I try my best to avoid these bus rides. I even hear about people who have suffered head injuries and even fractures while travelling by these local city buses. These don’t maintain any speed limits inside the city for they are not concerned about the people. They try to overtake other buses so as to get more passengers.
And as these competitions ensue, it is only the common people travelling in these buses who get injured and pay the price.