Shop till you drop: Volvo at your service

Shop till you drop: Volvo at your service
Deccan Herald

With parking space becoming scarce in the City, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has come out with a proposal offering shoppers a pleasant experience.

With parking space becoming scarce in the City, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has come out with a proposal offering shoppers a pleasant experience. Soon Volvo buses will cover shopping areas like Brigade Road, Commercial Street, Malleswaram, Gandhi Bazaar, Jayanagar and Koramangala.

“The mushrooming of malls across the city has worsened the traffic situation, especially during weekends when customers throng shopping centres. Quite often shoppers are forced to turn back because they cannot find parking space. The BMTC can run shuttle services to cover the shopping districts for the convenience of shoppers,” explains Mr P S Sandhu, Director (Security, Vigilance and Environment), BMTC.

Keeping the upwardly mobile profile of shoppers, the BMTC plans to allocate Volvo buses from the third batch of Volvos that it will receive in the next four months. “Airconditioned Volvos will provide a comfortable trip for shoppers, especially women and children who form a major chunk of shoppers,” Mr Sandhu says.

However, it will be quite a while before the BMTC’s “shopping rounds” actually hit the road. “We are commissioning a study on the feasibility of this proposal, and we expect a positive response. In all likelihood, we will begin the service in June when the Volvo fleet touches 50,” Mr Sandhu reveals.

MUSIC IN BUSES

BMTC commuters will soon have music for company. The BMTC management plans to install radios on all BMTC buses “to make travel a soothing experience”. While FM channels and All India Radio broadcasts will be played for commuters on regular buses, instrumental music will be on in Volvo buses. Newspapers will also be introduced in the buses, following public demand.