Regular commuters have held up a mirror to Namma Metro staff, complaining how they are impolite and indifferent.



“It happened with me and I see it regularly that Metro staff do not talk to commuters properly. Some of them foul-mouth commuters if their instructions are not followed. They lose no opportunity to humiliate commuters who do not follow their instructions,” said Sakshi K, a college student.



Another commuter, Bhavana G, recalled how she was not allowed to board the train once as she failed to stand in the designated spot at the Magadi Road Metro station. “I was standing a few steps away from the marked yellow line. But I was not at the arrow mark that points towards the entry gate. I was not the only one standing like that; there were many others. The security guard got furious and ensured that I missed the train to teach me a lesson,” she said. “That’s not the way to behave.”



Suhas K, another commuter, said: “In some cases, the Metro security staff have pulled back women when they tried to climb stairs without going through the security check. There have been instances of women commuters forgetting to go through the security check as it is not aligned with baggage scanning. One has to take a detour. But that does not mean they yank us. Their tone of asking people to undergo security check is insulting.”



Some commuters said the Metro staff needed to be trained in social etiquette. “Some guards just enjoy blowing the whistle and annoying people waiting for the train. When the clock shows the train will arrive in eight minutes, we can stand or even sit in the space available. They force us to stand where they want us to stand, irrespective of the space. If we do not oblige, they shout and say they have the authority to move us out. Sometimes they blow the whistle just near the eardrum, which is very stressful,” said Munirathna, another traveller.



U A Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, conceded that their staff needed training as they were new. “We are organising regular training sessions on how to deal with and respect commuters. We are a new organisation and improving passenger comfort is a work in progress,” he said.