Bus Station Watch 6: Shivajinagar

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Do the hurdle race to enter ‘best bus stand’
Most commuters rate it No. 1 with regard to service and cleanliness but only after the manage to enter the bus stand!

Deccan Herald

Passengers by and large rate the Shivajinagar bus terminal as the ‘No. 1 bus station’ in the City - services, cleanliness and facilities wise. But the compliment comes after they manage to enter the bus station.

It is indeed a herculean task to enter this bus station located in the heart of the City and the main connecting point between North Western and South Eastern parts of Bangalore. Maddening chaos greet the passengers and pedestrians at the two entrances - the Central street side and also the Meenakshi Koil street side.

Buses, passengers and pedestrians have to fight their way to wade through the narrow entrances - a major bottleneck - persisting in spite of the Rs 8 crore modernisation programme taken up a little over two years ago.

Any commuter to the Shivajinagar bus terminal will tell you that it takes almost twenty minutes, more so during peak hours, to travel a little over 100 metres from the perimeter of the bus station to actually enter the premises. The result: Constant traffic pile-up and congestion.

The subway, built as a part of the terminal modernisation project to help people cross the busy roads in this area safely, find no takers due lack of display boards, directions and enforcement.

The subway has two wings, one from the terminal towards Jothi Cafe and another towards the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. Pedestrians coming from and going towards Russel Market and Tasker Town can also use the subway.

The subway has eight exits and four platforms. None of the traffic junctions in the vicinity have traffic lights to help pedestrians cross the roads safely. Seepage of rainwater, due to lack of adequate water-proofing in construction, has been the problem in the subway, forcing people to the dangerous route overhead. Hawkers block the narrow footpath in the locality spreading out their mats and other wares.

Lack of platform specific signboards providing bus timings and route schedules are few and far between. It takes a lot of patience to wade through 410 schedules of the 250 routes on the mammoth plan displayed at one of the entrances’ of the terminal to find where one’s bus is. Moreover, platforms 17 and 18, with bays for buses plying towards Nelasandra and Vivekanagar side, have no shelters forcing the passengers to wait in the open.

At least, the toilets are clean and overall maintenance of the bus stand is good, which is a far cry from the old bus stand which sometimes could have been mistaken for a garbage dump. For the record, the terminal handles about 3.5 lakh commuters daily. The BMTC operates 6,010 trips to meet their demand.

COMMUTER CALLING

Imam Hussain: It should be made mandatory for all passengers at the bus station to use the pedestrian subway. This will help in curbing accidents and chaos especially during peak hours. Posting security guards and constant patrolling will help.

Gita: The display boards at the bus station only provide information regarding the final destination of the buses. Route maps will go a long way in helping passengers identify bus stops enroute.

Dhananjaya: The earlier system of issuing tickets at the counters should continue as this will help the passengers in getting prior information of the exact route and the timings of the buses. It will also reduce the burden on the conductors.

Anupama: Deployment of more security personnel at the bus station during peak hours and in the evenings will help passengers feel more secure.



K Suresh: The upkeep of the bus station is better-off compared to others in the city. However, route maps and timings of buses should be displayed at every platform. More enquiry counters should be set up.

BMTC RESPONSE

Aftab Pasha, BMTC Assistant Traffic Manager

* We have already sent a proposal to the Bangalore Traffic Police and the BMP to install road dividers at the Central Street side entrance. This will prevent people from jay walking and also ensure that they use the subway.
* Shivajinagar is the first bus station in the City to have a full-fledged complaint registering system.
* Steps will be taken to install route maps at all the platforms along with bus timings.
* User-friendly platform numbering and display boards have already been installed at the terminal.