Evening bazaar street, as shop owners begin to bring the goods back inside the shops as the day approached climax, goods that were on display all day, I stopped my motorcycle at a street food stall. The bazaar street ran between a bus station and a crowded taxi stand. In recent years I have witnessed an increase in the number of buses, local, and government operated, that embarked from this bus station to major cities. At this hour, there were also a noticeable number of cabs and personal cars on the road as well. Far as I can remember, and still there seldom seen in the crowd is the hatchback Maruti 800, with 796 cc that produced 35 brake horsepower. I still often see Fiat Premiere and Hindustan Motors’ Ambassador, whenever I get a chance to travel to urban townships.
The changing landscape of automobile sector, this maybe is most likely a story of every small town, when it tries coming to grip with the pace of the rest of world. Here we are talking about automobiles. At first, there were only government operated buses, but you must have a compelling case to ensure that even with government help, service can sustain a justifiable number of passengers on the route and keep the service profitable. This also provided means of employment for not just only for drivers and bus conductors, but also to mechanics; employs manufacturing and supply chain.
In the decade of 1990, there were a considerable number of villages and small townships that couldn’t not afford a bus service. If the government didn’t not find the case reasonable, a group of motivated individuals opted to purchase and operate their own bus service. It went something like this, earlier, it was a tough case to sell to people to leave their villages and comfort of the known and join the rest of the world. Today, the operational structure of transport rarely makes you question, how it all began. If your town had a bus service, it meant, it’s going to run until its done. These buses are lifeline of Indian towns, and for the end of time, small-town boys and girls will hold dearly a dream of becoming a bus driver.
In small villages there are usually buses first and then came the road. The prime presence of bus manufacturers in India is still Tata. At a traffic signal on a busy workday in Kolkata, I once saw, Tata, Ashok Leyland, Mercedes, Eicher and a Volvo passenger buses within just a few minutes. This amazingly beautiful example of industrial revolution in motion rarely seen in any other city. The improving living standards have enabled the society to purchase personal automobiles, motorcycles and cars. Affordability meant opting for bigger cars and townships waiting for to pass the bill to widen the road, this is an ongoing debate. So far it has been a widely successful business plan, a car for each home, maybe two, cars per household, or may be three cars per household. I rarely foresee based on the current circumstances people opting for electric vehicles due to lack of infrastructure and initiative, but a change is due not long from now. I would make a case for the increasing gas prices, inflation, and competition between the private and government ecosystem, but times are changing for better.
I tend to applaud when I see an electric vehicle pass by me, this is a great, but only the owner can weigh in on the pros and cons of the electric vehicle ownership experience. Objectively, it begs to question the sustainability of existing petroleum-based transport system and challenges conventional consumer purchase behavior. Usually, automobiles run you a lifetime, so is replacing a fully completely functional automobile with an electric car feasible? Undoubtedly, long from now there will still be petroleum engine enthusiasts. There is a good enough case for introducing change into transport infrastructure, it certainly portrays the initiation into the modern era as we embrace a progressive status quo. The problem with pollution and its impact will probably become explicitly evident by the next century and the global warming debate would turn into applicable norms and standards. However, like any change, we must find a way to create ecosystem where petrol and electric, both ecosystems can co-exist. The prices will soon flip, meaning, driving a petroleum engine vehicle will become more expensive than driving an electric one, that, once we overcome the initial infrastructure costs. What tomorrow holds is an opportunity for us to experience a different world.
The bustle of the evening bazaar street probably won’t be the same.
