Paid a pittance, UPSTRC contract drivers forgo rest to drive long hours and earn more

A day after four men on two motorcycles died after being mowed down by a Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) bus in Greater Noida on Wednesday, the gruelling schedule of roadways bus drivers came to the fore on Thursday.

Sources in the UPSRTC revealed that more than 90% bus drivers are working on contract and are paid ₹2.33 per kilometre. In order to earn more, these drivers often forgo their off duty hours and drive for longer durations, thereby putting their physical and emotional well-being at risk.

According to the UPSRTC, a driver is advised to drive 300km per day but a contract driver drives nearly 500km a day as they do not have any health or family insurance, except the routine health check-ups conducted by their depot.

On the other hand, permanent drivers get all government facilities, including a provident fund, a fair salary, a fixed working schedule, and medical insurance, said UPSRTC sources.

To earn some extra money, drivers sometimes go on 14-hour shifts. Drivers also said no routine health checkup is organised by the depot, and hence they are prone to stress and fatigue.

Bhajan Lal, who has been driving a bus since the past 26 years, is a permanent employee, who was transferred to the Nodia depot in 2014. “In a day, we drive between 400 to 500 kilometres,” he said.

”If a driver covers more than 400km, he can get a second day off but if he covers only 250km, he has to drive the next day as well to complete his shift,” said Bhajan Lal.

“To get an alternate day off, most permanent drivers try to drive more than 400km.They are given a two-day duty schedule from the depot in which they are informed about their destinations, timing, and the kilometres they have to cover,” he said.

But the situation of contract workers is completely different. Anil Kumar, a contract driver, said, “The fundamentals for contract-based workers are clear-- the more you drive, the more you earn.”

When asked what benefits they received from UPSRTC, a driver replied, “Only ₹2.33 per kilometre and nothing else.”

Noida Depot assistant regional manager NP Singh said, “Around 350 drivers are employed with the transport corporation in Noida . The UPSRTC operates 333 buses and engages 647 drivers and 610 conductors on a contractual basis in Noida and Greater Noida depots.

There are also 47 drivers and 20 conductors who are permanent employees of the corporation in the district and they are paid salaries of nearly 40,000 per month.

These buses ferry more than 7,000 commuters per day to neighbouring districts such as Ghaziabad, Meerut, Aligarh, Bareilly, Etah, Bijnor, Agra, Badaun, Mainpuri, Lucknow and also to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

The Noida depot has 180 buses, while the Greater Nodia depot has 161 buses. If the bus is scheduled to cover more than 500km, then two drivers board the bus, said Noida depot officials.

UPSRTC Gautam Budh Nagar, regional manager, Manoj Kumar said on long routes, such as Noida to Lucknow, two drivers and two conductors are deployed on each bus for safety.

“For shorter routes, only one driver and one conductor are deputed. There is no medical insurance for staff, but we conduct health camps frequently and also send the staff to district health department for medial help if needed,” he said.

Kumar said even for contractual staff, there are salary slabs. “If a driver plies 6,000km in 24 days, he gets paid ₹19,593 a month.If he drives 5,000km in 22 days, then ₹16,593 is paid. If the driver manages to drive without an accident, he is paid ₹1,000 additionally every month.

Kumar said for safety during fog, drivers and conductors have been sensitized to drive slow and follow traffic rules. “The UPSRTC buses ply from 6am to 9pm. We are planning to reduce the working hours of drivers and conductors by one or two hours. The speed limit has also been reduced from 80km/hour to 75km/hour,” he said.

As for the accident on Wednesday, police said the driver Devendra has been booked for rash driving and causing death by negligence. Dankaur station house officer Sanjay Kumar said, “A case under section 304-A (death by negligence), 279 (rash driving) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused bus driver Devendra and he was arrested. It came to fore that he was suffering from an epileptic condition.”

“On Wednesday around 1pm, the UPSRTC bus was heading towards Bulandshahr from Dankaur, when its driver Devendra suffered an attack of some sort and fell unconscious, thus losing control of the vehicle while approaching the main road from Mandi Shyam Nagar Bridge in Dankaur. The bus then rammed two bikes coming from the opposite side,” said Singh, adding that the collision was such that both motorcycles were completely damaged and two bikers, Karan and Sunil, riding on one of the bikes, died on the spot.

“Two of the injured men -- Madan and Kamlesh -- were rushed to a nearby hospital, where Madan died while undergoing treatment and Kamlesh was referred to another hospital, where he later died,” said the SHO.