Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus commuters, especially the aged who have to travel during the night hours to their destinations, are struggling to find their buses as the route boards that indicate the origin and destination are not clearly visible. Though the bus corporation has LED electronic display boards, either they are turned off or non-functional.
“After finishing my work at JC Road, I walk to the bus stop at Lalbagh Main Gate to catch the BMTC bus to reach Chandapura. During the night hours, we see that many buses do not turn on the LED display. They place a name board on the extreme right of the bus, which is usually not visible at all,” said Muniraju, a worker. He also said by the time the board is visible, it is too late and the bus would pass by.
This is not the case with Muniraju alone but with many BMTC bus commuters during night hours who miss the bus because the boards are not clear. They said the situation is worse during the rain and at bus stops where there are no proper street lights.
“My work gets over only at around 9.30 pm and I head to the bus stop at Maharani’s College or Reserve Bank on Nrupathunga Road. The frequency of the buses is less during the night and I cannot afford to miss the bus as I have to catch an auto or book a cab to head to my destination. Though there are bus shelters, I prefer to stand on the road till I get the bus as I cannot run if I sit. While LED display boards are affixed to the buses, they are not put to use. The origin and destination are written poorly using paint on a wooden plank,” stated an employee of a private company.
When TNIE took up the issue with BMTC Chief Traffic Manager GT Prabhakara Reddi he said, “As per rule, buses should have LED display boards. However, due to technical issues it might have not been in working condition is some buses. We will set it right. In some old buses (BS III) we have not installed LED boards as they will scrapped this year.”