More transit centres for city

More transit centres for city
As part of a JNNURM scheme, 10 TTMCs have been sanctioned for the city in the first phase. Sai Prasanna reports


In a bid to ease traffic congestion in the city, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) came out with the idea of having 45 Traffic Transit Management Centres (TTMC) throughout the city. These centres are bus stations dotting the city that make it convenient for the public to park their private vehicles and take a bus to commute. They also come with convenience stores and other facilities.
Initially, 10 TTMCs have been identified under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme and detailed project reports were prepared and sent to the Government of India for approval through the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC). The Jayanagar TTMC was sanctioned as a pilot project at an estimated cost of Rs 8.9 crores. This project is estimated to be completed by January 2009.
Seven other centres - Vijaynagar, Kengeri, Bannerghatta, Banashankari, Koramangala, ITPL, and Shantinagar were approved in October this year. The project reports for the last two out of the 10, Yeshwanthpur and Domlur, were sanctioned a few days ago. The BMTC has called for tenders for these centres. Work on these centres should commence by the beginning of 2009. The total project cost for all the 10 centres comes to Rs 333 crores.
"Our aim is to promote public transport by offering the park-and-ride facility so that congestion in the city comes down. We have not gone for the public-private partnership model as we are focussing on the quality of transport infrastructure and common use. Since mass transport covers only 25 percent of the population in the city, bus transport must become more efficient as it has to cover almost 76 percent." says a senior official at the BMTC.
In a bid to make the TTMCs more user-friendly, 32 amenities will also be provided to the public. Facilities provided are categorised under six heads - basic, health, service, finance, transport, and household requirements.
Basic facilities:
Provision of clean drinking water Separate restrooms for gents and ladies Waiting rooms with landscaping and comfortable seating Multi-level two-wheeler and car parking Police outpost as a safety measure
Health, service and finance-related facilities:
BBMP's counter having a public health centre 24-hour drugstore Post office Electricity, water and telephone bill payments Bangalore One centre BBMP centre to obtain birth and death certificates Payment of property tax Payment or submission of income tax returns Payment of excise and commercial tax returns Cyber cafe Public telephone and photocopying centres Bank and ATM
Transport facilities:
Bus station or bus stops in the premises KSRTC bus reservation counter Railways reservation Air travel reservation counter Counter for flight check-in facility for domestic flights Courier services - both domestic and international Taxi services Tourism services ITDC counter for booking out-of-state tickets by road or rail
Household facilities:
Food bazaar Cafeteria Household articles
All these facilities will be provided on the ground and mezzanine floors. Parking will be provided in the basement and two upper floors. Depending on the topography of the site, there will either be a basement or two upper floors.