Bengaluru’s IT laurels definitely aren’t evident in its bus system. Bus shelters remain a rarity and those that exist don’t provide commuters with any information. A little-known rule makes fare boards mandatory at bus stops and shelters, but BMTC has ignored it for years. The Intelligent Transport System, which could give public transport a major boost, still hasn’t been implemented and the fixation on revenue-generation outweighs everything else. Will corporate intervention and PPPs bring our public transport system back on track? NISCHITH N. reports
Bengaluru may have made huge strides to earn the coveted reputation of IT City, but some of its people’s basic needs still remain unmet. Take its public transport, which doesn’t seem to be doing its job as passengers never stop complaining about the service they get. Although the BMTC offers its bus services on over 2,000 routes in Bengaluru and has around 6,000 buses at its disposal, it doesn’t appear to be catering to the city’s needs in full. Not only is the condition of its bus shelters pathetic in many places, but they also have no display boards informing passengers about bus routes, their timings or the next bus expected. While this lack of proper information at bus stands has been a long-standing problem, nothing has been done about it as yet.
Also, not many know that besides timings of buses and routes, the BMTC is expected to display stage fare boards at every bus station in the city under the rules. "It is mentioned in the transport rules that every bus stop should have a stage fare board to help passengers. But even today not one bus stand in the city has a fare board," rues Mr Anand of the Karnataka State Road Transport Association, noting that most passengers are not even aware of this rule because the BMTC has ignored it for so many years. “ We somehow came to know about it and asked for a clarification from the corporation under the Right to Information (RTI) Act," he explains.
The BMTC’s response to the query was an eye-opener as it admitted, "As of now, there are no stage fare boards at bus stations in the city. The corporation will take immediate action on this issue.” Being a student who frequently uses buses, Chetan S R is happy to hear that the BMTC is expected to display fare boards at all bus stations. “But we have not come across such boards at any bus stand, which only means the corporation is not interested in making them user-friendly,” he regrets. However, ask a senior BMTC official about the people’s complaints and he says it is working on an Intelligent Transport Solution (ITS) for all bus stands, which covers stage fare boards as well. “Things will change for the better soon," he promises.
Revenue more important than shelters?
The BMTC may have started 'Bus Days' to encourage people to use public transport, but it is not matching its campaign with proper amenities to make its buses inviting enough to use. Also, commuters complain that drivers sometimes ignore their presence at the bus stops and come to a halt at random elsewhere.
Says a student, Chetan R S, “The location of several bus stops is clumsy, leading to traffic jams. And many are so badly maintained that we are forced to stand on the road and flag down passing buses.”
Angered by the poor quality or the complete absence of bus shelters in many places, passengers are now training their guns at the BBMP, which took over their maintenance 11 years ago. "Even bus drivers find it difficult to stop at the designated bus stops because of how poorly they are maintained. The BBMP should give up this responsibility and hand over the maintenance of bus stops to corporate companies in the city, which could use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to take care of them. At least then our bus shelters will look good enough for commuters to use," says an advocate, Purushotham Prabhakar.
The traffic police says it has made several recommendations to the BBMP to renovate the bus shelters, but has received little response from the civic body. The BMTC too has a similar complaint. "We have repeatedly asked the BBMP to renovate the bus shelters which are in poor condition but have not received any reply. We will take up the issue at a higher level in the organisation," says a senior BMTC official But there is some good news for commuters as the BMTC itself recently decided to renovate 2,212 of its over 8,000 bus shelters across the city, and has called tenders for 1,200 of them.
