Have you wondered about your favourite bus route?

It was hot afternoon when we boarded our usual bus no 71 from busy Eden Street that my friend remarked, ‘I hate 111, 131 their routes are so long, 71 is the best, it goes straight’. This made me think, I am not the only person having peculiar thoughts about bus routes. Living at Dadar, I have mostly travelled by bus to school, college, classes, work, anywhere in Mumbai. These bus travels have developed certain notions and memories about particular bus routes in my mind.

When I think of Mumbai buses I remember bus nos 165, 164, 385, 81, 85, 324, 79, 33, 87, 91, 28 and the list can be expanded. I can associate some memories, incidents, people I travelled with or something or the other with each of these bus routes. Bus no 165 has been a permanent companion from childhood till date. The landmark for my house is ‘ building behind 165 bus stop towards Worli’. This will be amusing for Londoners who depend on tube and location maps to travel. I use to take the same bus in the opposite direction to catch those early morning lectures at college. The 7 am 165 use to be full with school kids, most of them disembarking at my stop, making way for us other regular travellers. The daily routine to see the bus conductor managing the school kids and his witty conversations were fun to watch. The same conductor knew his other passengers and we never had to mention the stop we wanted to get off at, the ticket would be ready in our hands.

There was something I liked about route no 81, but still can’t figure out what was it. So many time when we were engrossed in chatting on the bus stop, my friend would say ‘your favourite bust has come, will see you tomorrow’. Was it the particular seat I use to scramble for while travelling to French classes? But I know why bus no 324 was my favourite while returning home from a tiring day when I was working at Business Standard. Doordarshan was the starting point, I got the window seat and the bus stopped right opposite my house! Bus travels on routes 87 and 91 remind me of several visits to my aunts' house, 79 and 33 will always be associated with my first job at Andheri.

This saga has continued in London too. My first Red Bus ride was no route 131, travelling from New Malden to Fairfield Bus Station. One of the early experiences of travelling in London was the recorded tapes inside the bus – 131 to Tooting Broadway. The journey in 111 to Heathrow Central will always be remembered for my early days in London, horrendous travel time to reach my university campus and for many more reasons. And I cannot forget 85 to Putney Bridge, my all time companion while studying at Kingston University. Another day when I was boarding the same bus home, I heard a guy telling his friend ‘this is my favourite bus’. Have you ever wondered about your favourite or not so favourite bus route?