Private and minibuses wait for passengers at every nook and corner of the city. On most occasions, the buses are overcrowded, which lead to fatal accidents on the road. A Telegraph picture

Kajal Ghosh: Why do state buses run faster than private buses? On most occasions, we have to suffer because of the private buses. The main sufferers are school students and office-goers. But we don’t have any other option, as the frequency of private buses is quite good.

The state buses are run by salaried staff, while the private buses run on a commission basis. So, the driver and conductor in the state buses do not bother about the number of passengers boarding in each trip, and therefore, reach their destination faster.

But on private buses, more passengers on each trip means more commission for the driver and the conductor. So, they waste time at some places waiting for passengers. Of the total number of tickets sold in each trip, a driver gets 12 per cent and the helpers and the conductors gets six per cent each as commission. So, you can understand that it is a battle for their bread and butter.