BENGALURU: Undeterred by huge losses in its feeder bus services along the East-West (Baiyyappanahalli-Mysore Road) Metro corridor, BMTC proposes to roll out buses along the Metro’s North-South corridor (Nagasandra to Yelachenahalli) by June-end.
BMTC officials say nearly 100 buses will be introduced once Metro is operational on the North-South corridor. Currently, BMTC buses operate on 15 routes along the East-West corridor through 83 feeder buses, including three Volvo buses, scheduled at 15-30 minute intervals.
A BMTC official said that of the 15, only one feeder bus route - Majestic to Mantri Mall - is making profit. “We want more people to use our Metro feeder buses to reduce traffic congestion. We are also creating awareness about our feeder buses that ensure last-mile connectivity,” BMTC Chairman M Nagaraj Yadav said.
BMTC officials say that revenue from regular buses will be further reduced once the North-South corridor is operational. “We are in the process of designing routes for feeder buses that generate more revenue. Commuters can also request for new buses through our website,” a senior BMTC official said.
At present, BMTC’s average daily revenue from feeder buses is `4.15 lakh, which is `5,000 per feeder bus a day. BMTC wants to increase the daily revenue to `7,000 per bus.
BMTC also plans to set up LED panels, which will reflect the estimated arrival time of buses on a real-time basis at important Metro stations such as Baiyyappanahalli, Mantri Mall, Vijayanagar, MG Road and Nayandahalli.
Many commuters, however, say there are no adequate feeders during peak hours and after 7pm. “There are no feeder buses from Baiyyappanahalli Metro station to areas like Ramamurthynagar, TC Palya and Shanthi Layout after 9pm. I have to depend on autorickshaws to reach home,” H Kumar, a regular commuter in Baiyyappanahalli Metro station, said. “BMTC is operating buses every 30 minutes. But when a bus is unable to reach the station, then commuters have to wait for an hour,” he added.
On Thursday, BMTC officials distributed pamphlets on feeder buses to the commuters travelling on Metro. “We are ready to increase the frequency of buses and the number of AC feeder buses, provided there is a demand from commuters,” the official said.