BENGALURU: BMTC’s AC buses are a favoured choice among commuters, especially now that temperatures are soaring.
But with ACs not functioning well in many buses, it’s a stuffy ride for commuters.
There have been an increasing number of complaints over ACs not functioning well in many buses. “We pay steep fares to be able to travel in comfort but the poor airconditioning in BMTC buses leads to stuffiness and discomfort,” said S Poornima, a commuter.
Every day, BMTC carries an average of 50 lakh passengers, of which nearly five lakh commuters travel in AC buses. Nitish Kumar, a regular commuter, tweeted, “Travelled in the new Volvo BMTC bus. AC is not working. Its just like the basic fan (sic)”.
There are also complaints of foul odour coming through AC vents in some Volvo buses because of dust and poor maintenance. A tweet by Prasoon Bhushan read, “KA 01 FA-1848. There is problem in AC vent, bad smell is coming out, very difficult to breathe (sic)”.
A senior BMTC official said, “We recently inspected all AC buses and instructed the crew to maintain a temperature of 22-24 degrees Celsius. But the temperature inside AC buses go up whenever the door is opened at bus stops.”
Some commuters complained that drivers themselves switch off the ACs even at the height of summer. Nikhil S, a regular commuter in Kasturinagar, said, “Some drivers are reluctant to switch on the ACs in buses for the reasons best known to them. BMTC officials should conduct surprise checks on Volvo buses to check whether ACs are functional. Otherwise they will lose passengers to private cabs.”
A BMTC official admitted that ACs in nearly 570 Volvo buses which are almost a decade old don’t function properly. “It’s because of the irregular servicing by Volvo and shortage of spare parts,” the official added.
BMTC operates nearly 700 AC buses, including 675 Volvo and 25 Corona buses on various routes. BMTC is also planning to run 1,000 AC buses by 2018.
The expensive AC buses have turned into white elephants because of frequent breakdowns, high pollution and rising operational costs.
BMTC officials said they will soon introduce happy hours in the form of reduced fares for AC buses during non-peak hours. The move is expected to increase the occupancy rate.