BMTC to ply 500 buses on 25 grid routes

BMTC to ply 500 buses on 25 grid routes
The Times of India

Bangalore: A bus ride from Bommanahalli to Jalahalli presently takes over 90 minutes and a commuter has to unnecessarily come into Majestic or Shivajinagar for the purpose. From April 28, commuting will get quicker.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has in place 25 grid routes across the city, with 500 dedicated buses. These routes are primarily meant to decongest the main areas, the Central Business District and the three major bus-stands in Bangalore. Even the buses on these routes come in bright hues of blue, green and orange, just so commuters can distinguish these grid buses from the others. Explained BMTC MD Upendra Tripathy, “This is not an alternative but will augment the existing services to connect every location that has not been connected so far. The 25 grids are colour coded, it is sure to decongest our over-populated bus-stands.’’

Citizen consultation initiative: A committee of NGOs and citizens has been galvanised to undertake studies, feasibility reports, survey and financial viability of urban transport systems. It will frequently meet to address commuters’ problems. The north, south, west and east zones in the city will be co-ordinated by a facilitator to organise programmes for NGOs and resident welfare organisations in Bangalore. Peak-hour services: To address traffic and commuter woes during peak hours, 8.30 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 7.30 pm, the BMTC will soon introduce 500 buses to cater to peak hour traffic. This is apart from the 500 buses that would ply on the grid routes.

For women power: Of the 500 buses to be introduced exclusively during peak hours, one third of the buses have been earmarked for women, a la Chennai. The buses will ferry only women passengers and for the most part would have women conductors, the only men in these buses would be the drivers!

To address the issue of harassment of women in buses either by the conductor or co-passengers, Tripathy said vigilance was being tightened to have lady security officers in plain-clothes travelling in buses. Complaints could immediately be brought to the attention of the call centre, he added.

WHERE WILL THEY GO

SOUTH-NORTH
G1 - Bommanahalli - Kalyana Nagar bus stand; G2 - BTM Laout II St - B Channasandra; G3 - Arakere Mico Layout - Geddadahalli; G4 - J P Nagar III Ph - Heggade Nagar; G5 - RBI Layout - Vishwanatha Nagenahalli; G6 - JP Nagar VI Ph - Hebbal; G7 - ISRO Layout - Vidyaranyapura; G8 - Bhuvaneshwari Nagar - Laggere and G9 - Banashankari I St - Jalahalli Cross.

EAST-WEST
B1 - Rajarajeshwari Nagar - Marathahalli; B2 - Mysore Road New Bus Stand - Vibhutipura; B3 - Kengeri Satellite Town KHB Qtrs - Bommanahalli; B4 - Nagarbhavi Circle - Marathahalli Ring Road; B5 - Sunkadakatte - Marathahalli; B6 - Kamalanagar - Krishnaraja Pura; B7 - Jalahalli Cross - Kasturi Nagar and B8 - Jalahalli Cross - Marathahalli.

DIAGONAL ROUTES
01 - Marathahalli - Hebbal; 02 - Hebbal - Sunkadakatte; 03 - Sunkadakatte - Bommanahalli; 04 - Bommanahalli - Sri Sathya Sai Hospital; 05 - Marathahalli - Yelahanka Satellite Town; 06 - Vidyaranyapura - C V Raman Nagar; 07 - Hoskote - Kengeri Satellite Town and 08 - Chandapura - MEI Layout.

BMTC HELPLINES
North Zone
(Ramesh Dutt): 9342553225
South Zone
(Meera Mukund): 9886558853
West Zone (B K Satyanarayana): 9845847676
East Zone
(T Neerajakshi): 2554 6606
BMTC Call Centre: 12267