Kochi: Call it professional jealousy: a section of drivers in the KSRTC has complained against conductors sleeping in night services while they keep awake and do the job throughout the night.
The authorities have taken the charges seriously considering the safety aspect and given strict instructions to the conductors to sit awake near drivers and watch the latter drive without sleeping. The Ernakulam district transport officer issued a circular in this regard on Monday and other depot heads are expected to follow suit soon. “Most of the night services, including the multi-axle Volvo buses, would be to Mangalore and Bangalore and are operated as contract carriages. This means no standing is allowed. The commuters have already made the reservation. This leaves with virtually no work for the conductors who would take a nap,” said a driver with the Ernakulam depot.
“Only a single driver is deployed in services like Bangalore (560 km). Even if we feel tired, there is no depot outside the state to take rest. We’ve demanded that driver-cum-conductors be deployed like they do in the Karnataka corporation. Or at least the conductors should sit awake and assist us,” he said.
