BENGALURU: For regular passengers of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, designated stops are a long-forgotten thing. Their athletic skills are put to test every day with buses halting well away from mandated spots.
To tackle this issue, BMTC had last year announced the launch of a GPS-based system to ensure buses halt within a 10-metre radius of a GPS grid at bus stops. The project was expected to be implemented at bus stops along Hosur Road on a pilot basis. But with BMTC turning down the proposal submitted by a private firm, commuters’ wait for better organised bus services could get longer.
BMTC is also inviting suggestions on developing a system to check buses skipping stops. In their defence, BMTC drivers claim that often, halting at designated bus stops are made difficult by encroachments, illegal parking and inadequate bus bays.
Regular commuters say their complaints to BMTC mostly go unattended. “For instance, most BMTC buses halt 50m ahead of the bus stop near Hudson Circle causing major traffic congestion. But there has been no action despite repeated complaints,” said K Vinod, a regular commuter.
At Kodihalli Cross, for example, most BMTC buses halt in the middle of the road forcing regular passengers, especially senior citizens, to stand under scorching sun and also to run behind buses.
BMTC officials says they are monitoring bus movements including skipping designated stops, overspeeding and deviating from designated routes with the help of Intelligent Transport System (ITS).
“Halting buses away from the designated stops are because of various factors.
For instance, BBMP has to relocate some of the wrongly placed bus shelters and also clear encroachments. Also, traffic police are responsible for clearing illegal parking from bus bays” said a senior BMTC official. “We are also creating awareness among the bus drivers to halt only at designated stops”, the official added.
Some motorists complain that most buses stop in the middle of the road and near flyovers to pick up or drop passengers which adds to traffic jams.
“It’s creating severe congestion and also confuses drivers who are behind the bus. BMTC should take disciplinary action against such drivers,” says a Shravan Kumar, a motorist who regularly uses Ballari Road. “Most BMTC drivers neither follow lane discipline nor use bus bays. This increases congestion, especially during peak hour”.
Soumen M, a netizen tweeted: “The markers should designate bus parking areas as BMTC and others stop in the middle of road to let off passengers which is risky (sic)”. Another tweet by Srinivasan reads: “If BMTC can stop the buses exactly in Bus Stop (not in the center of the road) 50%of the traffic in Bengaluru will come down”.