Commute

When the siren of the first ever Metro train of the city resounded from the tracks of MG Road station on Thursday at 4 pm, hundreds of people were looking up from the queue outside the station. Snaking outwards to both sides of the station, the queue was getting longer with more people joining in every minute. Visitors with their tokens at the ticket checking counters in Metro station. Pic Navya P K As the first train was leaving the station, operators waved to the crowd below. There were loud shout outs from the public, even as some voiced their…

Recently, new bus shelters have come upall over Bangalore. Extensive space has been given over to advertising, and some space has also been allocated, at the top of the bus shelter, to give the name of the bus stop. However, not a single bus shelter has any provision for some essential information...the bus routes stopping at the particular stop. I am not talking about timings as there may not be adhered to at all. But certainly, the route nos. and the series of stops could be displayed.  It surprises me that such an essential feature has been left out of…

Bengalureans have waited for a long time for the Metro. Here's what they are saying on Twitter! ⊕

With Bangalore Metro set to start from October 20, tickets are being sold at Metro station counters. There are multiple options for tickets - either you can buy tickets for every journey or use an automated smart card. Namma Metro Phase I fares, launched Oct 20th 2011. Source: BMRC. The minimum ticket fare for travelling from one station to the very next is Rs 10. For the second and third stops, the rate is Rs 12. Fare to the fourth station is Rs 14 and that to the last station is Rs 15. Tokens can be purchased at the ticket…

Dario Hidalgo, a leading international expert on public transport systems, was in the city two weeks back to work with the BMTC. He was part of the team that revolutionised bus transport in his hometown Bogota, Columbia, by introducing BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System). In this exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, Hidalgo says BMTC has a lot to do before it starts its ambitious BRTS project for Bengaluru. He also says that BMTC's BIG-10 buses have the potential to provide service for the entire city - the ordinary fleet can be gradually replaced by using BIG-10 and feeder services.What are…

Residents of Koramangala have managed to get work on a new signal-free corridor project stopped, at least for the time being. Work for building grade separators had started at four junctions on Sarjapur road in June. These are part of BDA’s signal-free corridor project from Agara to Sirsi Circle via Lalbagh road. BBMP had transferred the project to BDA last year due to paucity of funds. Grade separators work had started at four junctions – Jakkasandra (flyover), Koramangala 80 feet road (underpass), Krupanidhi College (underpass) and St John’s hospital-Koramangala 100 feet road junction (flyover and underpass). Each grade separator is…

The world celebrates Car-Free Day on September 22.... Bangalore can also join in. We welcome you to play your role as a citizen of Bangalore: · Please do not use car on Sept 22nd · Use public transport for one day · Explore the possibility of car pooling from/to your area⊕

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He is one the world's foremost authorities on public transportation, and in particular bus systems. He led the transformation of bus transport in his home city of Bogota, Columbia and has since been involved a host of cities around the world.Dario Hidalgo is in Bangalore for a few days and he and his team of people from EMBARQ, an international organisation that develops sustainable transport solutions, are training BMTC officials on improving it's BIG-10 services. EMBARQ works with local transport authorities in developing countries to help them adopt best international practices. Dario Hidalgo, is Director at EMBARQ. EMBARQ works with…

In his latest notes on Bangalore Traffic Police's (BTP) Facebook page, Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) discussed problem areas, which are known to cause commuter issues. A snapshot of the note posted by Praveen Sood. Credit :BTP Facebook page. Titled, ‘K R Puram problem', in the note posted on 22nd August, Sood said that hundreds had posted on the page about the narrowing of the road under KR Puram hanging bridge while going from Hebbal towards Marathahalli, causing bottlenecks. He said that the solution to the issue was not easy as the adjacent lane to the road belonged…