BMTC

After giving the full amount for the BMTC ticket you will have to ask "Ticket kodi sir" - "please give me ticket sir." I have seen many conductors taking cash and if the commuter is travelling for short distance, they just don't give the ticket. What happens if you give money and not take ticket? This incident happened in BMTC Shanti Nagar Bus Depot. Last year, I used to go for weekend trips and manage to reach Bangalore either Sunday night or Monday early morning. One day, I was comfortably seated in a bus at Majestic. The bus was fully packed…

When you generally have the same routine and wait patiently, and hopelessly for the same bus every day, you tend to know all the buses that pass through at that time. You tend to form patterns that, if nothing else, give you hope. There are also enough versions of BMTC red Volvos for you to look out for specific ones. My usual routine is to wait one stop before the Sarjapura Road junction for the 500K at around 4 pm. Around this time, you are greeted by a steady procession of 500Ds and 500NAs headed towards Silk Board and 500Cs…

Recently, there was an article in Citizen Matters by Ganga Madappa pointing to the fact the BMTC fares are higher than the distance indicates. I have been having a problem with this for some time now and given this opportunity, would like the share some information. As I understand it, BMTC buses are considered to be 'Stage Carriages' and their fares are governed by notifications put out by the government under the act. The latest notification that I could find dated 03-11-2010 on Maximum Fares for Stage Carriages in the State of Karnataka can be seen here: http://rto.kar.nic.in/Maxi%20rate%20for%20SC.pdf The notification…

A bus commuter, Vamshi Krishna, posted a discussion on the Citizen Matters forum. He stated that he was issued a  ticket for Rs.70 on the Volvo from Kundalahalli Gate to Majestic bus station in Bengaluru, and the distance printed on the ticket was 24 km. On 4 December, he boarded the bus, armed with a GPS device in hand and measured the distance. The GPS device however showed the distance covered as 17.4 km. Citizen Matters decided to get to the crux of the matter and find out what the problem was. Was the BMTC doing something they shouldn’t? Was…

Wonder why the Mayor of San Francisco visited Namma Bengaluru recently? What is common factor between Bangalore and San Francisco? Both cities are IT hubs, have pleasant weather and good educational institutions. But the similarities don't end here - they are 'Sister Cities' too. The concept of sister cities came into being as a means of fostering cultural ties between two towns, cities, even countries from geographically different areas. Bangalore is twinned with four cities – San Francisco and Cleveland in North America, Minsk in Belarus (there is apparently a Bangalore Square in Minsk) and most recently, Chengdu in China.…

A few days back BMTC Volvo crew went on a flash strike, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, against a new rule scrapping overtime when they fail to meet a target for the number of trips per day. They cited bad traffic and road conditions for not being able to meet those targets consistently. When we look at it from a more sympathetic perspective, BMTC crew and Traffic police personnel do bear most of the brunt from fast-crumbling roads and the rains which have added an all new dimension to an already overcrowded, grid-locked city. Given these conditions and the need to…

On the sidelines of a press conference of the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (commuters’ forum), a survivor of sexual harassment narrated her recent experience on the city’s Metro. She’d complained to the police, who hauled in the perpetrators – white collar employees of a prestigious global brand. She got them to the police station with some difficulty. A staff member of the Metro had resented having to help her by locating the CCTV tapes and so on. The now chastened young men pleaded with her, saying one of them had to head back to his job in the Middle East…

PRESS RELEASE Officials of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation(BMTC) held a meeting with representatives of the Bangalore Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) at its Head Office in Shanthi Nagar on August 17, 2013. This followed many weeks of agitations, demonstrations and letters sent to BMTC officials following the recent steep increase in bus fares. It was unfortunate that BMTC officials had sought police protection during the meeting. Policemen were present throughout the meeting. From BMTC’s side, Prakash G ‐ General Manager (Traffic) (In Charge) and Veeregowda GN ‐ Chief Traffic Manager (Commercial) took part. From BBPV side, there were ten members…

Bohidar Subankar writes: KA 57 F 1099 Volvo (500c) on 1st aug 2013My wife was trying cross the road amid traffic to catch the bus, the driver saw her screaming to wait for few seconds but he left the bus stop.I followed the bus, overtook and waived my hand and stopped at the next bus stop and by the time my wife can come out of the car he left the bus stop without stopping.I followed it again and the same was repeated.I was sure now that he is doing it intentionally.I overtook and stopped the bus but he didn't…

BMTC is about to roll out the second generation of the Big10 system. In the first instance, the system shifted from destination orientation to direction orientation along the Big 10 arterial radials of the city (later expanded to 12). Then we added the BigCircle routes, and the cross-cutting routes of the K series. Now comes the next phase - a full trunk-and-feeder system to be deployed first on Hosur Road and then on the other arterials. Here are some of the key features (and I'll discuss each of them in detail in future posts).(a) Electronic City, Chandapura, and Attibele will be…