Low fares high on popularity

Low fares high on popularity
BMTC Gears Up To Handle Volvo Rush On Holidays
Deepa Bhasthi | TNN

Bangalore: Bangaloreans sure loved it. A luxury ride on the red shiny Volvos at just Re 1 had citizens asking for more. And the BMTC is giving them just that, with fares being slashed drastically on Sundays and national holidays. The latest initiative to popularize the service and make more people take to the public transportation system will kick off on Thursday, and BMTC officials are keeping their fingers crossed.
The city transport system has wizened after the previous popularity drive left several buses damaged. The Re 1 fare that was on for four days, from September 11 to 14, left several windscreens with scratches and seats with long tears. To prevent such a fiasco this time around, the BMTC is appointing a security guard to travel in each bus to check unruly behaviour.
BMTC chief traffic manager Dastagir Sharief told The Times of India that the guard will travel on the buses on days when fares are slashed. On Sundays and general holidays, fares will range between Rs 5 and Rs 20 on all routes, except the ones that ply to Bengaluru International Airport. The initiative will include 110 Volvos of the 140 in BMTC’s fleet.
The Re 1 tickets sold like hot cakes on all four days. An estimated 3.25 lakh passengers travelled around the city, some buses carrying well over 150 passengers where the capacity was about 70 seats. Cases of damage to suspension, tyre bursts due to the overloading and damage to seats and windows were reported at the end of the promotional drive. BMTC officials hope the security guards will prevent a repeat of such incidents. “Thursday will be the first day the new initiative is being introduced. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” added Sharief.
Volvo bus passes pick up sales
Dastagir Sharief said the sale of monthly passes for Volvos, priced at Rs 2,500, were picking up two months after they were first introduced. About 800 passes were sold in September alone, with October likely to see sale of about 1,000 passes. This pass allows commuters to travel on any bus service of the BMTC along any route in the city, any number of times during the month. Companies that book more than 50 passes get a bulk discount of Rs 100 on each pass. About three companies have availed of this offer, Sharief added.



AFFORDABLE LUXURY
The four-day offer last month, of Re 1 tickets on Volvos, was a huge success. BMTC will now offer Volvo rides on Sundays and general holidays, for Rs 5 to Rs 10, to any place in the city. The offer is not available on the Bengaluru International Airport routes.
The slashed fares will enable a passenger to travel at a cost of Rs 0.72 per km, as against Rs 1.26 per km on other days. A Rs 45-ticket will be available at Rs 20 while a Rs 10-ticket will be available at half the amount. It costs BMTC Rs 52 per km to operate a Volvo bus.