BENGALURU: In the first three months following the launch of the KIAS-15 route on February 19 between Whitefield and Kempegowda International Airport, the BMTC facility hardly had any passengers.
Today, an average of 25 air passengers in each trip, use this service — thanks to an innovative step by two BMTC staffers at the Whitefield depot.
The AC Volvo bus begins its trip from Vaidehi TTMC (in Whitefield), then heads to ITPL, Hope Farm, Kadugodi, T K Halli and then reaches the airport. It follows the same route on the return trip. A one-way full trip costs Rs 263.
Depot 18 Manager S Satish and Traffic Controller Janimiya came up with the idea of creating a Whatsapp group with passengers to spread information about the service in June. Speaking to TNIE, Satish said,
“This is a short route to the airport, that is usually taken by cabs, and helps in reaching within 1 hr and 15 minutes. Many who travelled from Whitefield or any of the destinations enroute, hardly knew about it. So, we started this WhatsApp group.”
The WhatsApp group gave information about the arrival time of buses at each stop, the time it would stop at each spot, the fare and the time taken to reach the airport from each place.
“We also gave phone numbers of conductors so that passengers can call for assistance,” Satish said. The number of participants of group kept increasing to an extent that they could not add more people due to the 256-member group restriction.
“So, on August 13, we decided to switch to Telegram service. The existing group migrated there and more numbers could be added. We have 931 members on the group right now,” he said.
On of the passengers Nirali Shah of TCS, who recently relocated to Bengaluru, said, “I had to catch a flight at 5.50 am. I joined the group and called the group admin (Satish) for help.
The bus came on time and it was really helpful as I was new to the city. The admin was so considerate that he called up later to check if I had reached on time for my flight,” Shah said.
Narendra Vemuri, a Senior Director in Technology with Ameriprise India LLP, who took the bus to the airport said, “I took the bus last Sunday after hearing about it.
I reached the airport in just 50 minutes. I was really impressed and called up the depot manager after hearing about their Telegram venture. I plan to meet him in person this week.”
BE A PART:
Those who want to join the group can call or WhatsApp the Depot Manager on 77609-91418 or scan the QR code below for the telegram link