BENGALURU: To convey its opposition to the proposed 18% hike in bus fares across the four state transport corporations and spread awareness among the public, the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) on Thursday held a novel kind of public ballot at the Kempe Gowda Bus Station.
BBPV, an umbrella organisation of 25 groups, conducted a ‘Commuters Ballot’ from 11 am to 1 pm at all platforms of the the bus depot by presenting physical forms to public waiting for their buses and asking them to tick ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for the proposed hike.
“Of the 569 votes polled, 543 (95%) voted against the fare hike and 25 (4%) voted in favour of the hike,” said a member of the group, Vinay Sreenivasa. Nearly 200 members of BBPV also held placards with information about bus fares in top cities in the country. “The proposed hike has only been temporarily docked now by the government. It could still be imposed on the public and so we are using the intervening period to create awareness and mobilise public opinion,” said a volunteer Shaheen Shasa.
Many of those spoken to said they would prefer to use their two-wheelers or take an auto if bus fares are hiked, Shasa added. The campaign would be an ongoing one, she added. An average of 46 lakh commuters in the city use BMTC buses on a daily basis. BBPV came into existence following a series of fare hikes announced by the BMTC in 2013-3014, she added.