bengaluru moving

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. In this article, two researchers share their findings on easing bus commute for people with disabilities. The series is published in collaboration with Radio Active’s #BengaluruMoving campaign.] Accessible and affordable public transport is central for persons with disability to lead dignified and active lives. Routine activities like work, healthcare, buying essential goods and maintaining a social life, are all dependent on their access to transport infrastructure. Despite international charters like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008),…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. In this article, two researchers share their findings on easing bus commute for older adults. The series is published in collaboration with Radio Active’s #BengaluruMoving campaign.] For many older adults in Bengaluru, the bus is not just a transport mode. Their nostalgia surrounding the bus is immense. Older adults share memories of using the erstwhile Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) bus to go to work, to visit the lush green Cubbon park on weekends; going to Majestic to catch a bus to…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. The series is published in collaboration with Radio Active’s #BengaluruMoving campaign.] The COVID crisis has forced behavioural changes in Indian society that would never have happened in the normal course. It has also taught us three important lessons. The first: Put a pause on our pre-Covid modern lives, and suddenly distant mountains become visible, rivers flow cleaner and hard-to-spot wild animals are seen walking through human habitation.  The second: The scale of inequity and lack of a support net for a…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. This series is pubished in collaboration with Radio Active’s #BengaluruMoving campaign.] Before the onset of COVID, BMTC was already struggling with very low share of traffic, and personal vehicles were clogging Bengaluru roads. Towards the end of this article, I have mentioned a few Key Success Factors (KSFs) that would help BMTC increase ridership. While these KSFs are still important, BMTC has been facing a new set of challenges with the onset of COVID, and hence must think of additional measures…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. This series is pubished in collaboration with Radio Active's #BengaluruMoving campaign. In this first part of the series, a transport expert shares his ideas.] Before we look into ‘post-COVID’ Bengaluru, we need to look back at how our transport system was in pre-COVID Bengaluru. We were facing extreme growth in: Vehicular traffic (both in terms of number of vehicles and vehicle kilometers travelled) and congestion on city roadsTraffic accidents and fatalities, especially of vulnerable road users High levels of exhaust emissions including…