Bathukamma Peak Crowd and a Depleted Crew Roster
Warangal depot operates 18 buses on Route 1A between Kazipet and Bhadrakali lake, a 14 km corridor. On the eve of Bathukamma, the depot expects 4,300 passengers in the three-hour evening peak, against a normal 1,900. Each bus seats 48 and may carry 12 standing passengers; loading beyond that is not permitted. A one-way trip takes 35 minutes and terminal turnaround is 10 minutes. Six drivers are on medical leave and four buses are due for scheduled service, but the workshop can release two of them after a two-hour safety check. The depot has 12 conductors available. The divisional office has ordered that rural Route 7B, which carries about 260 passengers in the same period, should not be cancelled without written justification. Prepare an operating decision for the peak, showing your calculations and the basis for any service cut.
1. Calculate the number of buses needed to clear 4,300 passengers in the three-hour peak, and compare that with the crew and bus availability at the depot.
Read the worked answer
Capacity per one-way trip: 48 seated + 12 standing = 60 passengers.
Cycle time for one round trip: 35 min out + 10 min turnaround + 35 min back + 10 min turnaround = 90 min. In a 180-minute peak, one bus can complete 2 round trips, i.e. 4 one-way trips. Carrying capacity per bus = 4 × 60 = 240 passengers.
Buses required: 4,300 ÷ 240 = 17.9, so 18 buses.
Availability check: 18 buses exist. Four are due for service, but two can be released, leaving 16 serviceable buses. Six drivers are on leave, so only 12 drivers are available; conductors are also 12. Crew, not vehicles, is the binding constraint. With 12 crews, the maximum carried is 12 × 240 = 2,880 passengers, a shortfall of 1,420 passengers, or about 6 additional bus-equivalents. The depot cannot meet peak demand from its own resources; it must request crews and buses from a neighbouring depot or accept controlled queuing.
2. The divisional office refuses to cancel Route 7B. Allocate the 12 available crews between Route 1A and Route 7B, and justify your allocation.
Read the worked answer
Route 7B needs about 260 ÷ 60 = 4.3 one-way trips, so 2 buses doing 2 one-way trips each provide 240 seats, with a small residual handled by a third short trip. That means 2 crews minimum for 7B, leaving 10 crews for 1A.
With 10 crews on 1A, capacity is 10 × 240 = 2,400 passengers against 4,300 demand. The gap is 1,900 passengers. This is unavoidable without outside crews, but the allocation is defensible because:
- 7B is kept alive with the minimum safe service ordered by the division.
- 1A receives 10 of 12 crews, reflecting its much higher demand and festival safety risk.
- The depot should simultaneously request 6 crews and 2 serviceable buses from the nearest depot, and hold 2 released buses as spare for breakdowns.
The written justification to the division should state the exact shortfall, the minimum 7B service retained, and the additional resources requested. If no relief arrives, the depot should operate 1A at a 10-crew ceiling and manage the surplus crowd by queue control rather than by illegal standing loads.
3. Describe the terminal and en-route traffic management measures you would apply at Bhadrakali lake to prevent bunching and unsafe boarding.
Read the worked answer
Bunching usually starts at the terminal, not on the road. Measures should be specific:
- Departure discipline: issue a written departure order with a fixed headway of 180 ÷ 40 one-way trips ≈ 4.5 min; use a dispatcher with a clock and a trip sheet, not driver discretion.
- Staging: keep 2 buses in a holding bay and release one only when the previous bus is loaded and clears the stop. Do not allow all 10 buses to queue at the boarding point.
- Queue management: separate women, elderly and general queues; use barricades and a public-address announcement; count passengers at the gate to enforce 60 per bus.
- En-route control: post an inspector at the intermediate stop with a radio or mobile phone; if two buses arrive together, hold the second at the stop for 3 minutes to restore spacing.
- Safety trigger: if the crowd exceeds the barricaded area, stop boarding temporarily and run a shuttle to a nearby overflow point rather than allowing roof travel or door-hanging, which would be a permit and safety violation.