Following the post I wrote more than a year back about the bus station that was being constructed near the SSRN hospital, here's some updates, with pictures. The bus station was completed last year in July with a total cost of 30 million rupees and those pictures were taken in August. The bus station is still as you it on those pictures, that is, not in use. There've been no changes yet regarding bus routes passing through the hospital. I guess NTA people are too busy going home at 2 p.m to care.
I'm starting to think that the bus station has been constructed with the purpose of serving as a monument rather than having any practical use. Oh! and people might be lost in all those weeds that have been proliferating there lately. Ah well! Hope in some years this place is inaugurated and it starts serving its purpose of facilitating the traffic flow in those routes.
I'm sick of passing by the hospital every single day of my life.
Edit (27/02/09): I got to know while listening to the radio today that an 11 year old student named Dhamina Hallomun met with an accident yesterday on a bus stop at Terre Rouge and as a result of which she's got her leg amputed. Another accident occurred wherein a women got several fractures which will keep her bed-ridden for 4 months.
I wonder if the NTA has got regulations for those type of accident. Remember Vyash Rambaree, a 17 year old student who lost his life last year due to a skull fracture in an accident? The bus driver has been sent to jail, but this hasn't changed the attitude of other drivers.
In an interview today Naren Ramgoolam from NTA stated that he did not understand how this has happened. According to him, bus conductors receive a rigorous training before embarking into this career. Yeah right! Like they got a training to be this disrespectful towards people. I wonder when was the last time Naren Ramgoolam set a foot in a bus. Might have been in the 70s. Duh!
Anyway, once more the NTA has shown how incompetent they are.
Edit: (Sunday 24 May 2009):
The inauguration of the station was held on the 13th May 2009.
It really pisses me out each time I'm unlucky enough to get a stupid driver when going through that route...
ReplyDeleteYou know what some of the TBS drivers do? They go up to the Pamplemousses roundabout to turn around!??!!??! :@ :@ :@
Indeed as you said, "moi mo malade et gagne crise" surtout kant bisin faire sa letour la fuf!
ReplyDeleteI am sure that when they will have to inaugurate this bus station, it will already be time to have it repainted n renovated!
its a complete waste, everything seems to be ready since months, but it is not in use.
SHAME.
WTF?!
ReplyDeleteIt is high time for some people to apply graffiti all over the place. Also, the latter can be used as a pickup point for various 'activities.' *cough*
When the bus station does become active, spread the word around. Let everyone name it "bistop monima" :P
In time, the above mentioned nickname would become the official name of the station.
Credits will go to Morinn :)
I'm sick of passing by the hospital every single day of my life.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny...
Yeah they should do something about it. At least open access to the damn thing. :S
Do you think we should write a letter to the NTA? Not an idiotic petition saying "here's wha ma best fwends haf 2 say". No a real letter with complete words and full sentences along will some reasons why we think the thing should be opened for business...
thats so unacceptable.
ReplyDeletewhen will they start being efficient in this country?!
enfin morinn, peze nenez bwar de lhuile en attendan.
Carrotmadman, yeah i remember once the driver was heading towards the Pamplemousses roundabout and people started panicking, they thought they've taken the wrong bus! lol! but turned out the driver was using his toes to think rather than his brain! :S
ReplyDeleteYashvin, yep and they've even put those yellow ribbons to keep it closed. zot ti kan mem kav laisse bane bis la faire 1 letour labas. o moin dimune ti pou penser zot p servi li. ^o)
Shah, lol! yeah some graffiti gonna be nice since it cannot be considered a public good as it is not even a good since it is not being consumed :S
I think hobos can go live in there. for all we know, the govt does not even care.
Jev, yeah! but i tend to get stupid when i start writing that kind of letter! like
"a fwend of mine and meeee wud *heart* to C the bus station opened" haha!!
Kel, lol at to expression pez nene boir de lhuile la! :P
efficiency c 1 mot kine rayer du dico pou bane dimune o pouvoir depi lontan mo croir! :P
Nice edit...
ReplyDeleteNTA always gets bashed. I think they should privatize it.
And some buses are crap in Mauritius.
Their brakes screech, bad sign. You probably wont stop in time if you needed to.
Their suspensions are no good anymore. This will wear the tyres, the seats will rattle and a lot of screws will get loose.
There are also people who cant help writing on backseats of buses. They absolutely need to write their ex's numbers. Go get a hobby...
yeah it's high time for privatisation and for throwing away those crappy old colorful buses. Aargh!
ReplyDeleteThis country is really "emba lao".
ReplyDelete1 Did they study the site, travel patterns ... etc ... before the construction of the station?
2 How often are drivers reassessed (for their license)? I know airline pilots have to resit for exams/simulation tests quite regularly. With a large number of road accidents, it wouldnt be a bad idea to do the same with bus drivers.
Bruno, I guess they have studied the site and carried out a cost/benefit analysis before carrying out the project, (usually all big project requires a CBA analysis).
ReplyDeleteBy hunch is that they planned the construction part and not the use of the bus station part. I was thinking that they would have designed new routes to ease out the traffic flow towards the hospital and put fowards routes that do not pass through the hospital altogether. But I guess no one got the time to plan that.
waste of tax-payers' money if they r not going to use it! gosh, as if Mu's economy can afford it!
ReplyDeleteit's sad to hear things like that specially when you are not in mauritius.
ReplyDeletemai selmen morine areter ar to lagare ta!
@ Morinn :
ReplyDeleteI guess they have studied the site and carried out a cost/benefit analysis before carrying out the project, (usually all big project requires a CBA analysis).
lol, sometimes I ask myself, do they really do it?
am lucky not to pass by the hospital every single day of my life.
ReplyDeletethe very sight of a hospital makes me sick..
hey hier mo ti ekrir ene long comment about the bus station mais li pane aparet, somehow :/
anywaysss fuck the bus station! (c pa sa ki mo ti ekrir hier)
happy weekend!
yay!! :D
good you mentioned the accident of last year where the boy lost his life. he suffered many days in hospital with a fracture to the head before dying. every year this cannot become a tradition.
ReplyDeletebus drivers waste their time chatting at "la gare" and then when they finally start driving then zot apiy lor champignon pou ki pas rentre port louis en retard.
bien temps pou sanz sa.
i agree with bruno, drivers have to be re assessed often. life of thousands of human beings depend on them. it's sad to think about that.
The accident of this girl has deeply hurt me. the authorities are nowhere to be found in this case.
ReplyDeleteon radio plus the person in charge ti p bagayer! li ti nervous et li pa ti pe conne reponn bien.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this website: http://209.85.175.132/search?q=cache:oeNJffvWM4AJ:www.gov.mu/portal/goc/mpi/file/busm3.doc+ssrn+bus+station&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=mu
ReplyDelete""7. Travelling by bus (General guidelines to passengers)
Getting on the bus
1. Please flag for the bus in advance
2. Please have the exact fare ready
3. Please stand on the pavement of the bus stop and not in the bus bay when flagging for a bus
4. Please queue up in an orderly manner
5. Do not carry big luggage onto the bus
6. Do not board the bus at the last minute
While on the bus
1. Please tell the conductor the destination you want to go and the bus stop you want to alight
2. Please show your concession bus pass (student, old age pensioner)
3. Please move quickly to your seat or to the rear to allow other passengers to board
4. Please hold on firmly to the handrail or standchior pole when standing
5. Please do not smoke or litter in the bus
6. Please offer your seat to the elderly and the disabled or those with children
7. Please help to shut the windows if it rains
8. Please do not stand on the door steps
Getting off the bus
1. Please press bell in advance to alight
2. Check to see if you have left anything behind
3. Do not attempt to alight at the last minute
8. Legal requirements for passengers
1. to form a queue in single file while waiting at a bus stop;
2. not to use obscene or offensive language or conduct themselves in a disorderly manner;
3. not to willfully remove, displace, deface a fare table or other notice in or on the bus;
4. not to smoke in a bus;
5. not to leave or attempt to leave a bus without paying the fare for the journey;
6. to retain their tickets until the end of the journey;
7. to produce their tickets to any authorized officer on demand;
8. to pay the fare for the journey taken in case they fail to produce their tickets;
9. to give priority to disabled persons to enable them to have access to their reserved seats. "
They give guidelines for travellers only. what about drivers? should it be allowed that they insult people every time?
Does CBA mean Cost Benefit Analysis? I thought it meant Commission Benefit Analysis! Lol :P
ReplyDeletePou résume tou sa ki ine dir ici, ena ene gros problem are ban bis ek transport dan moris (li pa ène news sa) ek gouvernement trouve pli intéresant fer ène lagare satte (parski zis satte ki traine la bas) ki investir sa dans kalité transport ou bien simin. Pa coné couma dimoune penser dans sa pays la. Personne pa pran population so demande en compte.
ReplyDeletedude that's what always happens in this country. unfortunately this one is yet another example.
ReplyDelete>>I wonder when was the last time Naren Ramgoolam set a foot in a bus. Might have been in the 70s. Duh!<<<
ReplyDeleteThats well said... If they travel by bus.. just once.. just ONCE! they realise.. how much training these conductors got... son of a b*tch..
I was unlucky enough to get the St Antoine again yesterday - there was only one bus at the station.
ReplyDelete& as I was not expecting, the bus went to the roundabout to turn around. Wasted 10 mins.
I was so furious, if there weren't concrete blocks on the station, I would have opened it yesterday itself! :S
you should consider that drivers and his assistant receive a very low salary and this is cause for frustration. their salary should be revised to motivate them to work.
ReplyDeleteGood post, intelligent comments.
ReplyDeleteSomething to add: NTA is corrupted. There are too many buses that fume and pollute our air.
The anti-smoking law would be a joke if we consider these busses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMaos3k05R4&feature=channel_page
it seems like bus drivers and conductors have not learnt their lesson. today one was shutting the door on the face of students who were half standing on the threshold of the bus and one old lady did not even get the time to sit down. she remained standing in the bus until the next stop. yes this happened and it was at st croix.
ReplyDeleteand i agree with digital graphy above, bus fumes pollute more than cigarettes. soon masks will become compulsory in portlouis northern station.