BMTC

Last month -- The  Lokayukta resigned. The government deregulated oil prices and bus fares went up immediately, and I tripped and fell at the post office and fractured a bone. These seemingly unconnected events have a common denominator, as you will see.Let’s go from the bottom up -- my fall. I headed for the post office across the road, and was near its entrance when a jagged footpath tile caught my sandals and I crashed on the floor some distance away, flat on my face.Onlookers came running, to help get on my feet and gather my scattered belongings (bag, purse…

Parvathamma Aiyappa runs a small tea shop in a village near Kengeri. This is where she lives. She also works occasionally as a domestic helper. With some savings, she managed to get her two  sons – Shivaraj, 12, and Amar, 13, to a not-so-nearby school run by a welfare society, where she has to pay a nominal fee for books, admissions and uniforms. Her husband is a labourer. Parvathamma Aiyappa with her children. Pic: Lavanya Keshavamurthy. Being the self respecting mother that she is, she refuses to accept any donations for their education from the well-off families where she works.…

Earlier this month (June 5th-7th), a group of NGOs and activists gathered at New York to add inputs on what citizens want, in terms of “progress” and “development”. These inputs will be fed into the UN summit to be held in September 2010 (normally, in such international summits, only VIP voices are heard, not those of  activists-on-the-ground).In fact, this global consultation was strictly for activists’ groups and whoever wanted to add inputs was welcome, there were no small or big voices. Those organisations that could not make it to New York could still send their inputs and suggestions, through a…

The first trains on the Metro are about to run in the next six to nine months, so this is a good time to ensure that a few other steps are taken to make the new infrastructure more effective. This is particularly because the world over, Metro systems are usually not financially viable, and this has to be overcome by some tie-in arrangement in the real estate market, through capital grants from government and through other control measures that benefit the transit system.Bangalore Metro is no different. Over the course of a decade and more, the state has been willing…

I have not written this article to defame BMTC but to bring out an issue which I come across every day on my commute to work. I stay in Madiwala and my office is in Indiranagar. I either catch bus route number 201 D or 201 M/A. I board these buses from Ayyappa Temple or Madiwala Masjid bus-stop.Underpass construction work on Ayyapa Temple road started at the end of last month. This has increased traffic in and around Koramangala Water Tank. I am not here to complain about traffic. Heavy traffic during peak hours is common in a city like…

The parking lot with space for 60 cars on the terrace of Jayanagar's Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC), opposite the 4th block shopping complex is lying unused. At 3.30 pm on a weekday afternoon the lot was empty. Empty parking lot on a weekday in Jayanagar one of the busiest areas in the city. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. Jayanagar is one of the busiest commercial areas in the city. There is space for around 60 cars and 20 bikes in this facility, says the BMTC, which runs the centre. For a car, the charges are Rs 20 for 4 hours.…

The BBMP council is finally in place, but the BBMP is not the only agency responsible for urban governance in Bangalore. There are many para-statals like BDA, BMRDA, BWSSB, BMTC responsible for performing the many civic functions of the city.  There is a clear need for a citizen to understand the functional differences between these statutory agencies to deal with issues pragmatically. The City Corporation The BBMP (meaning Greater Bangalore City Corporation) is the Municipal Corporation which is responsible for the overall administration of the city of Bangalore. The BBMP was officially formed in January 2007 by merging the 100…

Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC) provides city and suburban bus services in Bangalore. Here is some info to help you start using BMTC buses. Are their helplines to help me find my routes? What are the various BMTC routes? Regular routes, Big10, Big Circle, Inner Circle, Vajra Premium Services, Airport services How much should I pay for tickets? How and where can I get bus passes? Are their helplines to help me find my routes? BMTC Hot Line numbers: 1800-425-1663, 1266 (BSNL Only) and 22029935 They provide information on routes and bus pass information. It is available 24x7. What are…

If you didn’t convert to a bus commuter last month, here is another chance. BMTC has solicited citizen support and cooperation for March Bus Day on Thursday, 4th March 2010, after a moderately successful first time event on February 4th.  BMTC says they have taken into account feedback about February Bus Day and have made arrangements for a better experience for March Bus Day. They have added new routes and new corridors.This time, BMTC is focusing on the following five corridors of the city, where buses will ply more frequently: •    Old Madras Road•    Banerghatta Road•    Old Airport Road •  …

Come February 16th and it will be a crucial day for the first Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) proposal for Bangalore. Karnataka's Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has called for a meeting of the BDA, BMTC, Rail India Technical and Economic Society (RITES) and Infrastructure Development Corporation ( Karnataka) Limited (iDECK) on that day to discuss the BRTS proposal. In BRTS, BMTC buses will run higher speeds than usual in part because of dedicates bus lanes, allowing commuters to reach destinations faster. If the BRTS gets the Cabinet nod, it will first be implemented along the Outer Ring Road,…