BENGALURU: In a bid to decongest traffic in the city, the Transport Department is planning to set up dedicated terminals for private buses along Outer Ring Road. The proposal comes as private buses plying on city roads add to the traffic chaos, making movement of public transport and private vehicles more difficult. Also, parking of private buses on roads causes a huge problem. The problem has persisted despite rules prohibiting entry of private transport buses inside the Central Business District.
The Transport Department, in a meeting held with the chief secretary of Karnataka Government and other civic departments, proposed construction of separate terminals for private buses outside Outer Ring Road. A request sent to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for allotting the land required for such terminals along ORR has, however, met with lukewarm response.
“There is no such big space available for allotting for this proposal. Most of our land has been converted into parks, playgrounds and other civic spaces. The only chances of allotting land for this project are along interior roads, which will again cause a problem,” said S Somashekhar, chief engineer, Major Roads, BBMP.
According to Transport Department officials, a committee comprising officials from BBMP, Bangalore Development Authority, traffic police department, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and other government agencies has been formed to discuss the matter.
Currently, there are 7,200 private buses in the state, and 3,000 private buses in Bengaluru alone, Transport Commissioner PT Ikkeri told The New Indian Express. “They are not allowed inside the city roads, but there is no option as they don’t have space. Because of this, traffic in the city has been hit badly. So we have proposed separate terminals for private buses outside the city,” Ikkeri said, adding that a committee headed by principal secretary of the Transport Department and all civic and transport agencies as members has been formed.
“A survey is being taken up, which will identify locations on ORR, and will decide how many such terminals are required for the city,” he said.
Ksrtc MD reviews FLY BUS services
Managing Director of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation Shivyogi C Kalasad visited KSRTC ticket counter, BMTC help desk counter and the bus bay area at the city airport on Friday. He also reviewed the Fly Bus operations.