BMTC

Proposed amendment to Tree Act cancelled: The proposed amendment to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act of 1976 has been cancelled, as the state government withdrew the bill last Wednesday. It was a victory for the earnest citizens who had been on a non-stop campaign against the plan. The government had been slammed for proposing a plan that would make it legal for authorities to cut down trees. Hence, on Wednesday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister TB Jayachandra, clarified to the House that the government was going to take back the proposed amendment. He admitted that the amendment might have…

Last month, government bus drivers in Tamil Nadu struck work for over a week, throwing the cities’ commute scenario into chaos. The issue: long-standing demands over a wage hike. The bus drivers in the state have been demanding pay scales in compliance with the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations, approved by the central government in June 2016. Currently, in Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), the basic salary of permanent drivers starts from Rs 17,700. This is according to a settlement that the MTC reached with some trade unions on January 4th. However, major trade unions including the DMK-backed Labour…

Mobility was arguably Bengaluru’s single largest problem in 2017. Even as people grappled with depleting resources of water and land, it was the nightmare of getting from one place to another that took precedence over all else in our psyche. In a city of about 1.1 crore people, Bengaluru officially has close to 70 lakh registered vehicles. This is the second largest vehicle population in the country, coming behind Delhi which leads the way with a little more than a crore vehicles on its street. Mumbai with a population of 20 million has just over 35 lakh vehicles. In Bengaluru…

Somewhat surprisingly, Bengaluru’s Intelligent Transport System (ITS) for buses — the first of its kind in India — has been shortlisted with four other cities worldwide in the sustainable transportation category by the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards in New York for climate-related initiatives. The city has been proverbially bogged down by traffic snarls and lack of public transport, including taxis and auto rickshaws, and there have been few visible signs of an improvement in the situation. Nagendra, chief systems manager in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), said work on the project had started in 2015 and was officially launched in May 2016.…

BMTC is the lifeline of Bengaluru. Its buses deliver 5 million (50 lakh) passenger trips everyday. This figure of passengers carried is close to half the population of the city. Without BMTC, we would all be dead, in a manner of speaking, as the city's already beyond-clogged roads would need to carry this huge number of people in vastly more motor vehicles. In comparison Namma Metro does not yet carry even one-tenth that number of people a day along its currently functional 2 lines. And reports are that their service is already 'at capacity' until much-needed coaches are added and…

...Mostly, without any courtesy, is my sad answer. I do not own a car, and use public transportation (read buses...the Metro is yet to be within useful reach for me). I know that senior citizens are entitled to a 25% discount on all BMTC fares, except on Vayu Vajra (presumably, the assumption is that if I can afford to take a flight or even visit the airport, I can pay the full fare!). I also know that there are two seats reserved each for women and men senior citizens. However, over the two-plus years that I have been using the…

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has launched the much-awaited Smart Card to the bus commuters in the city. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the Smart Card and also inaugurated hi-tech buses and renovated foot-over bridge at Kempegowda Bus Station on June 17th. BMTC’s Smart Card has been launched in order to facilitate cashless transaction in purchasing ticket and passes. It intends to implement Smart Card based fare collection system. For this it has planned to implement a new method called Open Loop Smart Card based fare collection system in its services. This type of Smart Card is the first of…

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is commencing the issue of Student Concessional Bus Pass for the year 2017-18 through pre-printed card and newly introduced Smart Card.  The smart card and pre printed passes are simultaneously issued by BMTC for the smooth and hassle-free issuance of passes for the students of Primary, High School and PUC grades. The Pre printed passes will be issued from 12 June 2017 and Smart card from 17 June 2017 onwards. Students who have availed  the pre printed passes have to switchover to smart cards compulsorily, between 01 Aug 2017 to 30 Sep 2017 at the BMTC…

Coffee: Rs.12, bus fare to the coffee store < 1km away: Rs.5 each way. On a hot day like today, count on us and you won't miss your coffee. — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 26, 2017 Finally Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is doing everything it can, to show citizens in Bengaluru that they really care about the city transport. New buses, free wifi in non-AC buses, reduced fare and double-decker buses are only a few of the measures. The recently concluded GovJam event is an example of BMTC’s proactive approach to the citizen participation model that’s becoming popular in Bengaluru.…