How I came about to being a rider

Hello Everyone,

As my first blog, I want to share my experience of how and why I became a rider something I did not consider till I was almost 25.

I come from the city of Mumbai, public transport system of which is the best in India, at-least according to me. So for all the years I spent in Mumbai, 24 to be precise, I never felt the need to do any driving.

The most preferred mode of transport in Mumbai is the local trains. No matter what so many people complain about it, it is still the best service that I have seen so far. I agree I have not seen any outside India, but still.

After trains comes the BEST Bus service. A service that I can vouch for its reliability and standard of service. Over the years I have seen many changes in the bus routes and some of the routes that I frequented have been closed. But never in all these years and changes I felt like I have missed the route. As every time a route has been changed or removed, there has been a new route that would take me to my destination in faster or similar time frame (a criteria that is very important for public transport).

After trains and buses comes the old and faithful taxis and ricshaws the little bit expensive options but nothing can compare if you need to reach a relatively near-by destination quickly. Not even your own vehicle, as searching for a parking place takes more time then driving in this congested city.

All this changed when two years ago I shifted to Pune for my new job.

The first shock that I received was in Pune there were no local trains, something that according to me is very very important part of a local public transport system.

Further more I found that the local buses providers PMT and PCMT were no match to the Mumbai's equivalent BEST. Not only were the bus conditions pathetic but also the service was worse then pathetic.

I remember once I wanted to catch a Bus for Pune station from Aundh, and even after waiting for over 2 hours, not a single bus came my way. In the end, I took a lift from a kind hearted Toyota driver who took me to the Station in just 10 bucks.

On further inquiries I found that the Pune bus service runs on the principal of we will run a route if we feel like it, what does schedules and regular routes mean? So one fine day you could very well die waiting but not see any buses.

Further more someone told me that in Pune (especially the suburban area of Aundh) it is very difficult to get a bus after 8:00 pm. 8:00 pm means what!!! in Mumbai 8:00 pm is the peak time to get Bus/Train services.

So I realised that I need to rely on the rickshaw services.

So look at my shock when one of the first rickshaw that I took, I found that there was no meter! Man was this a public transport vehicle or was it private?

Apparently it is standard in Aundh for rickshaws to not have meters. Its a syndicate that they run here. You pay whatever they ask for or no one will take you where you want.

One day another experience I had about the rickshaws in Pune was when I boarded one from Aundh to some place which was pretty far away (at-least to my inexperienced knowledge of Pune geography). And I was pleasantly surprised that the rickshaw-wala put on the meter! I thought that there is at-least one good rickshaw-wala in Pune who is not a goon. But surprise! surprise! on reaching the destination, I find that the rickshaw-wala is pocketing the Rs. 100 note for a meter reading of 60-odd rupees. Why? Well according to him he needed the amount as return fare. What! Apparently it is a standard here that you give some amount as return fare when you take some routes. Oh! Well he was a part of the goon-gang too.

So with all these experiences and some more, I decided enough is enough. No need to rely on these bandits for my commuting needs. I need to get my own vehicle.

Since the most common mode of transport in Pune is 2-wheelers, I too set out on my journey to procure a 2-wheeler. But before I could buy a 2-wheeler, I needed to learn how to ride one.

The only mode of commute I knew of in Mumbai was public transport and the only thing that I had ever driven was a bicycle in my childhood. So I decided to take the route of taking a learner's license for 2-wheelers and learn to drive one from a reputed school.

So I set about my search for one such school. I put my problem with a few friends whom I knew in Pune and was met with a look, such that, I felt I was asking them to make me the primary beneficiary in their will. Like how could one person ask for such a thing!

Some good Samaritans did give me some numbers where I could inquire about it. So I called these numbers only to find that most of these did provide training to female learners only (talk about gender bias). Some provided training only on my 2-wheeler, ie, they wont provide me with a training vehicle. How was I to buy a bike and bring it home without knowing how to ride it?

Some did provide the services that I need but the rates they charged, I could as well have bought a second hand bike and broke it completely while learning and found it cheaper.

So in the end I just bought a bike and asked a relative to bring it home. For a whole month and half (till after service 1, which again my good relative took to the service center and back) I did not even drive my bike once.

Then one fine day a friend of mine took pity on me and took me out one night to teach me how to ride my bike.

He took me on a deserted street and asked me to drive my bike however I want. Not to be afraid to fall or hurt somone. In 5-mins flat I was able to balance and drive my bike. I could not believe it. But it is true. It took me a total of 5 mins to learn to ride a bike or about 2 months which ever way you look at it.