Bengaluru: In an attempt to encourage more people to use public transport, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation(BMTC) is offering a 15 per cent discount to passengers in a group of three or more travelling from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to Electronic City till the end of February. The offer, first introduced in January, could be extended for a few more months depending on the response, according to sources.
“It usually takes an hour or two to get from the airport to Electronic City and during peak hours it takes even longer. The traffic congestion on the stretch is heavy as people usually hire a cab to get home from KIAL. So we decided to do something about it by encouraging them to use public transport and came up with the idea of offering a discount on bus travel,” explains a senior BMTC officer.
“When people start using public transport, there is a gradual decrease in private vehicles like cabs on the roads. This might not be a big contribution, but it is a small attempt to make people give up private vehicles and start using buses more. It could also reduce air pollution in the city,” he notes.
Revealing that to begin with the discount was offered only for January, he says it was decided to extend it till the end of February looking at the response from the public. “It’s likely that after a meeting with the officers concerned, the offer will be extended for another couple of months. We are also ideating on introducing the discount rates on more routes from the airport. We want more people to use BMTC services as most passengers from the airport use cabs presently,” the officer adds.
The BMTC, which reduced fares on the Volvo airconditioned buses in the city, is happy with the response and could extend it seeing the rise in ridership, according to him.
“The corporation is planning to roll out more such initiatives to encourage people to use public transport,” he says.
