Commute

A delegation from Bangalore Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) met Karnataka's Transport Minister D C Thamanna and submitted a memorandum, asking for bus fares to be reduced. A press note from Vinay Sreenivasa of BBPV says that the BBPV communicated to the minister that proposal to hike bus fares will harm BMTC, bus commuters and entire Bengaluru. The Minister did not provide any assurance on not hiking fares. The Transport Minister had been hinting at hiking fares of BMTC by about 14% - 18%. Bangalore Bus Prayanikara Vedike has been urging both the current government and past governments to reduce fares…

During my college days in the pre-Metro rail era, travelling in the DTC buses in Delhi was a common choice. Rather, it was the only choice available for youngsters. Then came the automobile explosion in our cities, and the four-wheeler entered our lives too. We moved to Gurgaon eight years back and with almost non-existent public transport, we had to have two cars for just two of us in the family. It was only recently with the rapid metro reaching the city, about a ten-minute walk from our doorstep, that we started using it, especially on my trips to Delhi.…

A press note from Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) states that as many as 1200 buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Sringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi and other places, as it is the Gowri-Ganesha festival season. The details: Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri. All premier special buses will be operated from Shanthinagar(In front of KSRTC, Bengaluru Central Depot-4 & Depot-2) to Madurai, Kumbakonam,…

It was a day filled with obvious contrasts  - the kind that would ideally help make right decisions about the nightmare that we know as urban transport in Bangalore. The question of mass transit versus private vehicles was never answered more effectively for me. On Friday, the last day of August, I was slated to cover the Rail Yatra that was being organised by Citizens For Bengaluru, to reiterate their demand for a suburban rail service for the city. The 3 pm train was to start from Yeshvanthpur and reach Heelalige, a picturesque little station (reminiscent of R K Narayan’s Malgudi…

On August 7th this year, transport workers waged a nation-wide strike in protest against the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which was passed by the Lok Sabha and is awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha. The stir saw support from two state transport corporations of Kerala and Haryana as well as unions across party lines through the country. While the proposed law has largely been welcomed by experts as one that will bring about greater focus on road safety, several proposed changes to the existing Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 do not seem to have gone down well with the opposition parties and transport workers.…

Growing up in Bengaluru is no guarantee that you know the city. Though I have spent all my life here, there are parts of it which are still unfamiliar, and once in a while, I get to experience a facet of the city that I had not seen before. The #ModaluTrainBeku Rail Yatra, organised by Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) on August 31st 2018, allowed me a glimpse into Bengaluru’s local train network. The Yatra, from Yeshwanthpur station to Heelalige station, was organised as part of ongoing campaigns to introduce commuter trains for local commutes. On August 31st, I joined the…

Transport is the only development sector that worsens as incomes rise. While sanitation, health, education and employment tend to improve through economic development, traffic congestion tends to worsen as pro-growth forces tend to demand and influence policies. Transport is not a technical problem, It is not an infrastructure problem, It is not even a financial problem, Most often, it is a political problem. The proponents for elevated freeways planned to be built cutting across the city claim many benefits, but the theory behind these has gaping loopholes. Let me analyse them one by one, objectively. City has just 1,500 km…

Through this article, I would like to counter a previous article by Nitin Seshadri, a resident of Koramangala, that recommends elevated roads as a solution to our traffic jams. Here are my points: 1.The debate is based on unreliable data. We do not have the accurate road capacity data, and the OD matrix. Apparently Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) has carried out some transportation forecasting, but it was never shared in public. So the entire debate is based on questionable data. Before any elevated roads are proposed, the relevant data must be shared in public domain. 2.The elevated roads are neither…

Did you know that the state has a wide range of welfare schemes for all students, including those studying in private schools? The state department has allocated Rs 2,717.34 for the Transport Department, of which  Rs.799.25 crore is spent on subsidy for free bus passes to students and senior citizens. Bus passes can be availed to travel from a student's residence to school and back on all days of the month. Students with passes are permitted to travel in all ordinary, express and deluxe services. Here is an overview of such schemes available. Special Concession for Students To encourage school going…

Two years ago when the Centre for Smart Cities, the same think-tank that came up with the idea of elevated corridors, formulated a proposal to concretise 29 Bengaluru roads, it was with the vision to build sustainable road infrastructure. Like many ambitious government plans, the execution of the project by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) continues to be stalled by obstacles not taken into consideration during planning. The work has been held up in the absence of clearances from traffic police and due to the onset of monsoon as reported by the media extensively. However,  tender documents related to the project clearly show…