[sustran] Hours wasted at BMTC bus stops

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/169012/hours-wasted-bus-stops.html


Waiting perpetually *Hours wasted at bus stops* Svetlana Lasrado
*Bus connectivity to different parts of the City is bad and unbalanced, say
commuters*
 [image: needed The frequency of buses to various places in the City should
be increased.]Public transport is not favoured by many. One of the reasons
for that is the less frequency of buses. The authorities had taken a
decision to increase the number of buses plying in the City.

Despite that, at many places there are just a handful of buses, compounding
the problem of connectivity. Metrolife spoke to the authorities and people
to find out the possible reasons for this.

Says K S Vishwanath, chief traffic manager (operations), “We decide on the
number of buses depending on the density of population and demand. We are
going to increase the bus service in a few important places. People need to
understand that we will not be able to give them buses from every nook and
corner of the City.”

Says Gurpreet, who stays near Bangalore University, “There are just a few
buses to Majestic and K R Market.

To make matters worse, they are always crowded. So the bus drivers take the
liberty
of not stopping at all. The next bus stop is about fifteen minutes from our
place.
Even while  returning, one hardly gets a bus to this area. We have to wait
for one and a half hours to get a bus.”

Another commuter Sumitha, a working woman, says, “I travel to Bannerghatta
Road everyday. Usually in the morning I do not face much problem. But on my
way back, there are not enough Volvo buses. After 4 in the evening, the next
bus comes only at 7.30 pm.”
A lot of other people too say that the connectivity is very bad in the City.


Says Raghu Kumar, an IT professional, “There are not many buses that go to
Majestic, because of this we face a lot of hassles. We have to go to
Banashankari, K R market or South End to take a bus to Majestic. Even from
these three points the buses that go to various places in the City are very
less. We are forced to go all the way to Majestic for taking a bus to any
other place. Another route that has low frequency of buses is the BIAL. We
get buses only from J P Nagar to go to BIAL.”

However, there seems to be no balance in the number of buses to the various
parts of the City.

Says Hrishikesh, who stays in Avalahalli, “There are quite a few buses that
go to Majestic and Market. But for Shivajinagar, it comes only once in every
hour. The authorities claim that there are not many people who go to
Shivajinagar. But I have seen this is not so.”

He feels the BMTC should devise a method to gauge the demand in different
places.
Says Aakash, who travels from Rajajinagar to M S Ramaiah College, “It may
not be viable for the BMTC to have buses on all the routes. So what they
should actually do is have a forum where the people can post their
grievances and feedback so that they can ensure that maximum connectivity is
achieved.”