KKK TRIP TO GYEONGPO BEACH

About a month back Navneet posted a message in Korea Kannada Koota (KKK) FB group about an idea of going on a trip from KKK to any beach near to Seoul. Lots of responses came to his post including suggestion from self. Many suggested to go to beaches near Incheon, as it is very close to Seoul and can be comfortably finished in one day. Majority suggested going to Eastern side beaches as they are better than the Yellow sea beaches in terms of cleanliness and tourist point of view. Finally Navneet again posted information about Gyeongpo beach on the eastern sea which is one of the longest beaches in Korea with white sand and a major tourist visited place. His idea was welcomed by all and everyone showed their eager to join the trip. He asked members of KKK who are interested to volunteer in the trip. I became one of the volunteer of the trip with this. We posted the details of the tour on the FB and requested the members who are interested to join the tour to sign for the same and gave a deadline date. Initially the response was not satisfactory. We were hoping a minimum of 35 people but when the deadline date was completed there were only 24 people on the list! With this number we had two options infront of us. One to go with 25 seater bus or second option was to include some non Kannadiga friends from IIK group just to increase the number. But we decided to book a 45 seater bus and anticipated some late entries from KKK members. We fixed the tour cost at KWR 24,000. Our expectation was infact right. Suddenly a week before the trip Sangam Swamy and more than 10 friends of him registered for the trip! Also few more showed their interest. Now the number becomes more than 45, which means no seat to accommodate all. Some late comers were disappointed to hear the houseful J A week before the trip, Navneet arranged for the conference call amongst the volunteers to discuss the activities. Volunteer were assigned different tasks. Navneet for arranging the bus and the trip plan, Divya Sudharashan incharge of money handling, Rahul with lunch arrangement and snacks arrangement, Divya Shree and Myself for in bus entertainment, Brijesh and Rajesh for the PR activities. I planned to conduct a small Quiz programme as a part of in bus activity. I prepared three rounds of questions and the game plan and shared with the team members. The idea was appreciated. So we were all set ready for the trip.

 On 14^th August got up very early at 4.00 am. Took shower, had two slice of bread a glass of milk, surfed net for a while and head towards subway station. Vijay and his wife were also coming for the trip. I met them in the subway station and we head towards the bus pick up point. Around 6.45 we reached the Gangnam, the bus starting point. Infact we were the last one to board the bus from that point, everyone were waiting for us! The bus immediately started, the next pickup point was Suwon. People were already waiting on the stop, by the time we reached Suwon. Everyone board the bus and occupied the seats. We head towards the Gyeongpo beach around 7.45 from Suwon. After the bus started moving, Navneet briefed everyone about the day’s activity and introduced himself to everyone. He also requested others to introduce themselves one by one. He put the condition to members while introducing to use maximum Kannada words which himself failed to keep! Everyone gave their introduction and as expected no one spoke in full Kannada. It is always Kanglish with more words of later. After the introduction everyone were served with water and little snacks. The traffic was moving very slow due to long weekend effect. Rahul who is the main host made his introduction and called my name to conduct Quiz programme. I explained the rules of the quiz and made the teams. Initially I had kept the team names as English alphabets a,b,c,d &e, but the members gave a suggestion to change the names to popular Karnataka food items. The suggestion was accepted and changed the names to Chow chow bath, Dose, Dharvad peda, Mysore pak and Golibajji. The members actively involved in the game, took seriously and answered with Great Spirit. When the first round got over, our driver stopped the bus at some road side bus terminal for a short break. After the short break (which lasted for more than 30 min, due to late arrival of few members) the quiz programme was continued. 2^nd and 3^rd round were much more interesting. At the end of all rounds there was tie between Dose and Golibajji team. To decide the winner put additional questions to each team. Finally Golibajji team were announced winners. They were given chocolates and cookies as an appreciation. People appreciated my efforts in conducting the quizJ After the quiz Divya Shree announced to play Dumb sharads. Now the group is divided into two teams. First half of the bus is one group and the rest are one group. This was a real fun game. Thanks to Roshan and Vinay Gowda for making it more fun. Roshan is unbelievable; he browsed through 3g and picked some unknown kannada movie names. People not heard of these names failed to recognise when their team member was doing the actions. The bus again stopped at one more station for a break. The traffic was moving very slowly. As per our original plan, we were to reach Gyeongpo beach by 11.00am but at 11 we were just half way through! To make the environment lively Divya shree conducted few more games. Again Roshan and Vinay Gowda pair were big entertainers. They coined the gay story between them and made us believe that, real funny guys. Finally at 1.30pm we reached Gyeongpo beach (2.5 hrs late than our plan). Immediately we had our lunch. The lunch was excellent. Rahul had ordered in advance to one Indian hotel near Gangnam, Seoul. The lunch menu was good. Two chapatis, 3 vegetable currys, vegetable biriyani, Gulab Jamoon, Salad and Samosa. The packing was excellent, and food was fresh even after 7~8 hrs of preparation. The serving and cleaning of the food items by the team members were to be much appreciated. After everyone had the lunch, the place was cleaned such that, there was no visible proofs that some had food at the place, so clean. If we follow the same practise in our India also, then our place also will be very clean and hygienic! Well after the lunch we changed the dress, and head towards the beach. Gyeongpo beach is really good. The white sand attracted me very much. The beach was fully crowded. We took two umbrellas and tubes for rent. Placed our bags and footwear under the shade of umbrellas and got into the water with the tubes. The water is shallow for initial 5 meters and immediately becomes deep. Unlike our beaches in India, due this waves are not much. With the help of tube, I was swimming and with the water current I was flown more than 50~60 meters away from the shore. I see my surrounding but there were no one, all alone. Everyone were playing on the shores. I don’t know much swimming and the tides were pulling me more into the water. I was scared at this moment and called for help. After a while a Korean safeguard came for my rescue. He drove me towards the shore. Thank God, I praised him for the help. After this I carefully restricted myself to play near the shore. Some people go for banana boat ride and bungee jumps. As I am scared of water sports and heights, I did not show any interest even in attempting L but playing in water for more than 2~2.5 hrs was fun. After the beach game, went to take showers. The shower places in Korea are weird. The place is so small for the number of tourists who come and it is an open bath. Korean men in their natural dress go to the shower in a public bathroom. Total embarrassing situation for me and my Indian friends. We never experienced this type. Somehow we managed to take shower (ofcourse we were not naked like Koreans in a public bathroom). After the showers, most of us were back to the bus and started waiting for others to return. Meantime some guys opened up Soju bottles and started to drink as some sort achievement! After everyone was back, group photos were shot. Around 7.00 pm we left Gyeongpo and head towards Seoul.  Back way some more games were played in the bus. Navneet conducted some funny game followed by Antakshari. Again Roshan sing some funny songs which were not heard by anyone but him. The traffic was bad this time too. Rahul asked each and every one share their experience. Everybody praised organiser for arranging such a memorable trip. Finally we reached back Seoul at 1.30am in the midnight. Me, Vijay and his wife took a taxi and reached our place around 2.30am. The trip was really good, memorable and conducted nicely. Thanks to the organizers and members.

Few photos taken from Divya Sudarshan, Divya Shree and Devesh Patel:

KKK members inside bus

me conducting quiz

playing dumb sharads

funny pair Roshan and Vinay

Divya shree conducting antakshari

playing in beach

taking rest

group photo to mark the event

Slowly moving traffic back way to Seoul

Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for easy travel within City

Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) can be defined as “Bus based mass transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility”. The other way of defining it as “a flexible, rubber tired rapid transit mode that combines stations, vehicles, services, running ways, and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) elements into an integrated system with a strong positive identity that evokes a unique image”.

Key features of BRTS:

BRTS vehicles operate primarily in fast and easily identifiable exclusive transit ways or dedicated bus lanes. BRTS stations are generally ranging from enhanced shelters to large transit centres, are attractive and easily accessible. They are also conveniently located and integrated into the people they serve. BRTS uses rubber tired vehicles that are easy to board and comfortable to ride. The important aspect is BRTS vehicles use clean fuels to protect the environment. BRTS are high frequency, all day service means less waiting and people need not to consult schedules. The integration of local and express service reduces long distance travel time. BRTS uses simple, often color-coded routes. They usually laid out to provide direct, no transfer rides to multiple destinations. BRTS fare collection system makes it fast and easy to pay, often before passengers even get on the bus. Buses allow multiple door boarding, reducing time in stations. BRTS uses advanced digital technologies that improve customer convenience, speed, reliability and operational safety and finally free transfers between lines possible with modal integration at stations and terminals.

BRTS in Seoul:

I am residing in Seoul from last 6 months. Actually my apartment is located in a satellite city called Ilsan. From my apartment to the working place is about 25 kilometres. Every day I use commuter bus for my travel.   I will explain here about the BRTS implementation in Seoul.

Seoul is the capital city of South Korea with an area of around 800 km² and population of more than 12 million. More than half the population of South Korea are residing in Seoul and nearby satellite cities. Seoul has a well-connected Rapid Transit system. Few recent statistics of transportation includes more than 10,000 buses 765 routes carries around 5 million passengers per day and 350 kilometres of subway divided into 9 lines with more than 3500 trains carrying around 4.5 million passengers daily!

In May 2004 first median bus lane was opened in Seoul. The lanes are highlighted with colour but physically are not segregated. Bus shelters are installed at stops in the middle of the road. The constructions of these shelters are funded by advertisement! Low floor buses run by CNG are used in BRTS. The routes are divided into a system of trunk lines and feeder lines. The buses are colour-coded and numbered according to lines. Fare collection is done using a card embedded with an IC microchip (T-money). Distance based unified fare system irrespective of transport mode is used. That means passenger can board bus then changes to subway and then changes to bus, then the fare is calculated for the total distance travelled irrespective of transport mode. Seoul’s system adopts “area wide network”. More than 20 routes run on the medium bus lanes. Average bus frequency is 7 minutes/day, 3~5 min at peak time.  Seoul Transport operation and Information Service (TOPIS) informs passengers waiting at bus stops of when to expect the next bus. Integrated fare/Toll collection system is used in Seoul. Passengers have a choice on variety of modes to use in the buses/subways which includes T-Money cards, Credit cards, Mobile RF cards or Cash. The cards are to be shown to the card reader while boarding the bus and at the time while getting down the bus. The card reader is connected to the driver console which intern is linked to the Bus management System server via GPS. Based on the distance travelled the amount is deducted from the card. These data are stored in centralized operator system. These T-money cards are like prepaid mobiles. Passengers have to load prior to using this card. T-money card can be used not only in buses and subways but also for Taxis, for tolls, for parking lot, in ice cream shops, to a street vendor etc…. Bus management system is effectively used. Primarily the Driver console is the data collection point. It gives the information such as bus location, bus speed, arrival and departure time at stops, incident information, loading and unloading etc… Basically driver console contains a GPS receiver and can be tracked all the time. Also with the help of wireless communication it sends the data to the BMS server located at the control centre.  Data processing and analysis is done in control room which includes estimation of arrival time at stops, congestion analysis, headway estimation, incident detection etc… Finally these processed data information are displayed at bus stops for the passengers waiting for the bus. Very well implementation of technology. As I had already mentioned, the distance of around 25 kilometres are covered just in 30~40 minutes. With a population of more than 12 million with more than 3 million vehicles this is really great!

Need for BRTS in Bangalore/Mysore:

Indian traffic is no more like in the olden days. Especially after the liberalization in the early 1990s and entry of foreign companies to Indian market, our economic conditions got improved. People afford to buy motor vehicles which resulted in the increase of automobile on our streets. Every year the numbers of vehicles are getting increased but the road and other infrastructure are not improved to match the ratio. So the result is in the traffic congestion. It is really a big problem in all Indian cities. Timely reaching to the destination is highly impossible, which resulted in the increase in number of accidents. There is a very good public transportation system in cities like Mysore and Bangalore. KSRTC and BMTC are providing a very good service to the common passengers, students and the working class. Unfortunately with the traffic congestion, they are not able to keep up the timings. The average journey speed is just about 18 kmph which is very slow. So to meet this increasing demand of travel demand, a cost effective, flexible and high quality transit service (BRTS) should be introduced.  Recently read an article in newspaper, there is a proposal for introduction of BRTS in Mysore. As per that report in the first stage a total of 60 KM is been planned in two corridors. The concept is with a median lane of width 7.5 m. Bus stop at junctions are 2.5 m wide, with priority signal for buses. Even ITS is planning to introduce which gives vehicle prioritization, signal timing/phasing, traffic signal priority, collision warning, GPS based vehicle guidance, passenger information etc… 

Well the information is just in the news and on proposal. To get it implement it requires great deal of vision and planning which is the one we lack. The challenges in implementing this BRTS are not simple. First of all the existing roads needs to be widened, which requires at some places demolishing of road side buildings and shops, which is not an easy task. Secondly this implementation involves a very huge budget, which must be funded with the help of government and private joint venture. Proper planning must be involved. We have seen in the past, construction of flyovers, underpasses and other means to reduce the traffic congestion which resulted in worst scenarios. Plan should be made keeping in mind for at least next 50 years. And finally public interest must be there.

I hope BRTS will be soon introduced in our cities also and we can travel quite freely and reach our destination at a right time.

Median lane BRTS implemented in Seoul

A typical Bus stop display, indicating different bus numbers with estimated arrival time.

A typical BRTS shelter in Seoul

Different colored buses for different routes

Card reader inside Bus for fare collection