I returned to Chandigarh yesterday and for the first time is a long time I took a Bus ride from the station to my university. There are few things really distinct about the Chadigarh Transport Unit (CTU) bus service. Recently, about a year or so back they had made a change in their system and they charge Rs 5 for one ride on one bus. Thus, it doesnt matter if you have to travel one stop or maybe several kilometers, you pay the same. Also they have introduced a “Grid System” whereby if you have to travel from one point to another in the CTU bus network, you have to make a maximum of one change of route. So the minimum you spend is Rs 5 and the maximum Rs 10 for travelling from any one point to another. Now these things combined gives you a very odd experience. The bus I boarded to reach my university actually went outside the city first, halted there for some time and they came back into the city taking a very peculiar and a long path to reach my university.

Anyways I spotted something really funny:

(Click on the photo to enlarge and read the seat reservation categories)

All this while I used to travel in Delhi, I used to find such a hue and cry about one side of the seats reserved for ladies. CTU has gone one step further. Considering the other half of the bus also has quite a few seats marked for handicapped and ladies the question is where does the general public sit?? Is there any way to prove if a guy is a freedom fighter or not?? I really do not see any reason of encouraging such system considering that in other countries there isn’t any such reservation. I hope such system will soon be history.