Page 48 - Traffic Infra Tech

COVER STORY PLUS

within 10 minutes of our promised train, which would move towards the
“If a person is time, we return your fare’, I took the destination. Such situations were so
not notified risk. Now the second incident. The common for us in India. I thought: ‘If
Swiss trains are considered to be very-
you are getting that engine, why do
500mtrs before very meticulous and it is said, you can you take that train back? Just push
any important correct your watch with the timings it and take it to the destination – in
information of Swiss trains. But I think the high any case that engine is capable of
whether he has to level of smartness of those systems doing it’. But I think when you are too
also somewhere erodes your own
systemized, that logical side is also lost.
take a right or left, genuineness or your capability to meet All said and done, it is the predictability,
then I think you with those challenges. I took a train in the certainty of different timings and
are creating an Bern. There, if a train is half an hour late the integration of different transport
opportunity for an or something goes wrong in the train, modes which becomes critical at certain
an announcement is made on the PA
points in time.
accident”. system like: “We are sorry there is some We have to look not only at the
fault in the engine, we are getting the road users or the road infrastructure
team and looking into it. Please bear - whether it is supporting or not, but
I will share two incidents with you with us for 15 minutes”. This is what at your vehicles, your classifications,
again. Years back I was staying in happened with us. They kept repeating and the technology in your vehicles
England and doing a course. When this announcement for another 15 too. Today one of the biggest
I was leaving the UK to come back minutes. We had started at about emerging concerns is that of the
home, I decided to take a flight from 1.30 pm and the arrival time at the aggregators like Uber and OLA.
Manchester. I took a coach at 11.00 destination was 5.35 pm. Many people Many questions arise: Are your
pm, where the scheduled time for travelling with us were supposed to drivers well trained? If a young lady
reaching the airport was 4.15 am. take a flight from there and then a is travelling after doing her night
The flight was at 6.00 am, so I had connecting flight. We couldn’t move shifts at 2am -- is she safe? And if
to check in by about 4.30 am. In our for one hour and then somehow, we there is any apprehension, how
conditions I do not know if I would got this news that an engine was being can she invoke an intermediation?
have taken that risk but since that was brought from Bern which would tow So the drivers’ credentials, their
a much more organized scenario and our train, take it back to Bern which capabilities… everything is getting
an assurance was written on the back was half an hour journey and then questioned and more and more
of the ticket that ‘if we don’t drop you from there we had to get into another certainty is being arrived at. But I

48 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER ’17 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com