"Bhai sahab, jab sab hi kama rahe hain to hum kyon na kamaen??..."....(sir, when everyone is earning, why should'nt we)...this was the shocking reply by Ramsingh, driver of aTransport Authority bus, on being asked why does he take money from private bus owners for plying slow. It seems that the transport Authority is undergoing a new trend these days. The drivers of these buses are being offered a unique opportunity to yield some easy bucks..!!

It is called the "Peak Time Suvidha Shulk". this is the time when maximum passengers are on roads and the private bus owner's profit depend upon the number of passengers or ' sawarees' they carry. More the passengers, more the profit. But the people of the capital still rely more on govt. buses. So whenever a transport authority bus and a private bus reaches a bus stop simultaneously, people tend to travel in the authority buses leaving the private owners furious and helpless. But now the privtate owners have founfd an easy solution....'kharcha paani' (as they call it) comes in as a blessing in disguise. They give the authority drivers, popularly know as 'Tau', a few hundred rupees for plying slow and not clashing with the timings of the private buses....wow...indeed a great management technique....and a money consuming one too...but who cares as far as the profit margins head towards the positive....

Ask the 'Tau' about this and he very carelessly responds, "Do char sau se kya fark padta hai. Yahaan to do-do crore ke ghaple ho jaate hain aur koi nahi poochta...." Well to some extent this is a fact too but anyhow this 'Kharcha-paani' act can't be justified on this ground. But then, who actually cares? Its India. Nothing official about it.....