Thaindian News

By Anjali Ojha
(Attn Editors: This is the fourth of the 100-day countdown series for the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. This is about training the national capital’s commuter bus drivers in dealing with athletes and tourists who will be visiting the city for the Games.)

New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) The Commonwealth Games will have innumerable spinoffs that will directly impact on the lives of the capital’s 17 million citizens. Here’s one with the human touch: Gone will be the grouchy commuter bus crews, who are being put through a crash course in English and being given tips on etiquette, the impact of which their trainers fervently hope will continue till long after the Oct 3-14 Games are over.

Thus, if travelers are habitual of hearing rude remarks and discourteous replies from bus drivers and conductors in Delhi and don’t expect anything else from them, all this is set to change. Come October and don’t be surprised if you hear a bus driver politely asking: “May I help you please?”

An English language course in basic words and expressions is being conducted through a colourful booklet, complete with pictures and containing expressions like “Any problem sir?” Have a good day” and “You are welcome” all with their meanings in Hindi transcribed underneath.

The booklet has been distributed among the 2,500 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) drivers and conductors who will be ferrying the athletes and tourists to the various Games venues in the city in a special fleet of 574 air-conditioned buses that the corporation will be deploying for the purpose.

“We want to develop their skills so that they behave in a proper way with the athletes and tourists during the Games,” A. K Srivastava, DTC’s senior general manager for training, told IANS.

The DTC is playing a crucial role in transporting the athletes and other participants at the Games. The last time India hosted such a mega event - the Asian Games in 1982, it was the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation was roped in and the buses later plied on various long-distance routes in the state.

“We were taught how to talk properly to the foreigners and not to be rude,” Rupesh Kumar, a DTC driver who undertook the training, told IANS.

The exercise has so far trained over 1,250 drivers and an equal number of conductors. A similar number will be trained over the next few weeks.

“While this programme is for the special fleet drivers and conductors, we also have regular training programmes and refresher courses for other drivers and conductors at our training center. We are paying attention to making the drivers and conductors more well behaved,” Srivastava pointed out.

Then, there is the trickle down effect.

“These booklets are very popular with other drivers. Even those who are not in this special fleet are taking the booklet from us. Every one wants to learn English,” driver Rupesh Kumar said.

The Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) was roped in by the DTC to provide training to the special group of drivers and conductors.

“The assignment was given to HIPA and included teaching basic English words and phrases and imparting lessons in etiquette,” Srivastava said.

Thus, the drivers and conductors have been taught not to say “Please” and “Thank you”, but also to ask questions like “Do you want mineral water?” “Which country are you from?” “Should I wait?” “Do you want some food?” and much more.

The special three-day training also included personality development aspects like yoga and meditation.

“It was a three-day training, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It started with an hour of yoga and meditation and we were also told about the safety and security aspects,” Kumar said.

For the DTC, however, personality development is just a apart of the training.

“The training has many tiers. We also train them about the routes and safety norms,” A.K. Goyal, DTC’s Deputy Chief General Manager (Traffic) for the Commonwealth Games, told IANS.

“Batches of 35 drivers are being taken in buses along the routes which have been fixed for the special fleet. They are also being given training on safe driving in the DTC training school,” Goyal added.

Asked about the selection criteria for the drivers for the special fleet, Goyal underlined that they have basically selected those with clear track records.

“We have taken drivers in the younger age group, in general below 50, with good driving skills and no record of accidents,” he said.

For the drivers and conductors, the training has come as a boon an has uplifted their confidence.

“It has made us more confident, we will be able to converse well with the guests and leave a good impression of our country,” Bhupinder Singh, another driver who has benefited from the training, said.

(Anjali Ojha can be contacted at anjali.O@ians.in)