BENGALURU: Members of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) conducted a #BusBhagyaBeku campaign at a garment factory near Kengeri on Mysore Road. The citizens’ group has been conducting surveys across various localities in the city on availability of buses, frequency, and other issues that commuters face.
The campaign is being organised in association with Bengaluru Bus Prayaneekara Vedike demanding the Chief Minister to allocate funds to BMTC so that ticket fares can be reduced by 50 per cent and more buses can be procured.
“BMTC is a mode of luxury transport for lakhs of people in our city. Garment workers earn a salary of around `7,000 a month and they simply cannot afford bus tickets or passes. Citizens who work as security guards or labourers cannot afford BMTC bus fares that are currently the highest in the country. We believe it must be affordable and accessible to all.
With a population of 1.2 crore in the city, we have 42 lakh bikes, 12 lakh cars and just 6,000 buses. Unlike bikes and cars, the number of buses is not increasing,” said Srinivas Alavilli, coordinator of CfB.
Tara Krishnaswamy, a member of CfB, said, “The public pays for transport in the city. But from the traffic mess, it is clear the government is not doing their job and instead have turned bus transport into a moneymaking proposition.”