Bengaluru: Basvangudi to Baiyappanahalli in 45 minutes!

Bengaluru: In a city where the average vehicular speed is less than the average walking speed, the completion of 42.3 km long Phase-I of Namma Metro offers a ray of hope.

There will be definite impact in a few months, depending on how people adapt to metro, say BMRCL officials.

"When we first started Metro from Mantri Mall to Peenya, the ridership was just 20,000-25,000 a day. In a few months it jumped to 45,000, when people got used to it. Right now, the total ridership of the existing purple and green lines per day is half a million and in a few months after completion of Phase 1, we will see it touch one million," said Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer of Metro.

Now that South Bengaluru is part of the metro network, a person can go from Basvangudi to Baiyappanahalli in just 45 minutes by Metro. Whereas, travel by car does not have assured travel time. It can go from anywhere between 1 hour if one is lucky, to 1.5 hours or even more.

However, to ensure the trains can carry the increasing number of passengers, the department has to increase their frequency. Transport Experts suggest it should be one train every three minutes, from the current 5-6 minutes.

Cost escalated nearly Thrice
While experts point out that delay in the underground section led to cost escalation. While the initial cost in the detailed project report (DPR) was Rs 5,605 crore, It was increased to Rs 11,609 crore and later to Rs 14,405 crore. However Metro officials blame rise in land and material prices for cost escalation. "When the cost was estimated in the DPR in 2005 and tenders were called later, rates were lesser. By the time we got to construction, guidance value of land, import duties of materials, exchange rate led to increase in price," said Rao, denying that delays in construction of certain stretches was the reason. BMRCL currently earns Rs 35 lakh per day and with the commencement of 42.3-kilometre long Phase I, they expect it to rise to Rs 1 crore.

Last-mile connectivity
Commute does not begin and end with Metro. Last-mile connectivity is still a deciding factor of how much time we spend on the road.

Mr Srinidhi, a member of Praaja RAAG, an advocacy group, said, “How BMTC chooses to adapt to the upcoming Metro line is crucial. Autos and cabs have taken to shorter-distance services, taking the passenger to and from Metro stations to nearby catchment areas.”

Mr Srinidhi believes that a long-distance BMTC bus running on the same line as the Metro is sure to lose customers. “For example, from Srinagar in South Bengaluru to Bagmane Tech Park, the BMTC bus takes 1 hour and 45 minutes and costs Rs 95. While the Metro, despite the interchange, will take 40 minutes and costs Rs 55-60, which is clearly more economical," he explained, adding that, running shorter-distance services with smaller buses along the Metro line will be the model BMTC must adopt to survive.

BMTC currently has 84 feeder services and recently procured 300 midi-buses, of which some will be used to give last-mile connectivity from and to the Metro station.

“We will add 100 more feeder buses on the upcoming green line, from Majestic to Yelachenahalli. The exact details of the routes are not confirmed," a BMTC official said.

For the benefit of commuters, BMTC will have to implement their new feeders as soon as the line opens on June 18. This will impact the number of people choosing public over private transport.