Vayu Vajras cut into BMTC profit

Vayu Vajras cut into BMTC profit

Deepa Bhasthi | TNN


Bangalore: Those shiny buses with long shelves for luggage and swanky interiors, which the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has been plying to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), are proving to be its biggest profit guzzlers.
BMTC is one of the few profitable public transport corporations in India. But the Vayu Vajras introduced from various points in the city to the airport are running on loss-making routes.
There are 44 Volvo buses that ply to BIA, apart from two spare buses. The operating cost per kilometre is Rs 52. With low occupancy, BMTC is incurring losses, but it does not seems to be worrying them the occupancy level to the airport is estimated to be 40-45%.
There are also several redundant and less popular routes that are adding to the losses. BMTC’s observations is that route No. 6 and 11, from Kadugodi and Chikkalasandra to BIA, have low occupancy. The most popular route is No 9, from Kempegowda Bus Station to BIA.
Several airline companies, like Air India, were mulling over a possible tieup with BMTC to ferry their employees and passengers.
BMTC managing director Syed Zameer Pasha, however, said the luxury service was picking up. “There have been losses along the routes after the service was introduced around May this year. But we are not too worried about it because passengers are increasing, and more people are preferring Volvos to private transport,” he said.
All that is needed is a change of mindset, and BMTC has a formula to make Vayu Vajras popular. There is a feeder taxi service that will ferry four persons for Rs 100 from their houses to the nearest Vayu Vajra stop. Advertisement space on all the Volvos is already sold out.
As part of more promotional measures, a passenger information centre package is being developed. Under this GPS-enabled system, Volvo drivers will be given mobile phones and asked to SMS at the time of starting and after reaching the destination, to help passengers track the buses.
BMTC is also constructing 51 bus stops where electronic display boards will show the routes and timings of Vayu Vajras. Officials said BBMP was helping build these. But some proposed bus stops along the highway have hit a roadblock because of jurisdiction problems with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), as NHAI is planning to build its own bus stops once the elevated highway is done. Currently, work is going on at 30 bus stops exclusively for Vayu Vajras.
On the go:
Kadugodi and Chikkalasandra routes proved redundant
Route No 9. — Majestic to BIA — is the most popular