Vayu Vajra bleeds BMTC of Rs 5 lakh a day

Vayu Vajra bleeds BMTC of Rs 5 lakh a day

BMTC’s ‘Vayu Vajra’ Volvo buses cut a grand sight ferrying passengers to and from BIA, but they’re splashing red on the company’s balance sheet. Officials worry that not many flyers are interested in the service, while the bus crew point to poor scheduling

By Suchith Kidiyoor
Posted On Monday, November 03, 2008

They’re the large, head-turning red beauties on the city’s roads, but they’re giving their owner a lot of heartburn! Those top-of-the-line Volvo buses that BMTC acquired at a mega-crore capital outlay to service travellers to the Devanahalli airport have become white elephants — bleeding the corporation of Rs 4 to 5 lakh everyday.

The flaming red Volvos were introduced six months ago on the BIA route after being christened ‘Vayu Vajra’ (meaning, ‘diamond in the air’). Initially, they fetched BMTC rave reviews, with some frequent air travellers and corporate honchos even going to the extent of describing the service as better than the new airport itself.

On any given day, 44 Volvo buses operate from different parts of the city to BIA. However, BMTC is now seeing red over the fleet, which is fast turning into a liability for the only government-owned transport undertaking that is making profits in the Asia-Pacific region.

Killer costs
“Our calculations appear to have terribly gone wrong,” a top BMTC official told Bangalore Mirror. While the earnings per kilometre from a Vayu Vajra bus are just Rs 25.48, the corresponding expenditure incurred per km is considerably more at Rs 41.53. The mileage clocked by a Vayu Vajra bus, which costs around Rs 75 lakh, is just 2.56 km per litre of diesel.

Worried, the BMTC top brass have gone into a huddle to ascertain the reasons for the fleet not breaking even. “Why aren’t more people getting into the bus, which is completely air-conditioned and air traveller-friendly as it offers extra luggage space and plush seats?” is the question that is nagging many at the BMTC head office
in Shanthinagar.

Bangalore Mirror tapped BMTC officials, Vayu Vajra crew and frequent flyers to find out what ails the fleet. Expectedly, the responses varied. BMTC officials blamed it on airport users for not showing interest in the high-end service. “Though these buses start from nearly a dozen points across the city, only those buses that originate from Electronics City and Kempe Gowda bus stand have some passengers. Buses on other routes do not run at even half their capacity. At night, buses from several points, including J P Nagar and Jeevanbhimanagar, run empty to the airport,” an official said.

Poor scheduling
The bus crew had a different take on the issue. “We have been asked to start our vehicle 30 minutes after the previous bus leaves the starting point. Passengers have complained to us that it is irritating to sit in the bus and wait till it starts. They instead prefer to reach the airport by a taxi and wait there,” a Vayu Vajra driver operating from HAL airport said. Joining in, a conductor pointed out, “None of the Vayu Vajra-designated stops en route to BIA have bus shelters where passengers can wait. Why would any air traveller stand on the main road and wait for our bus to arrive?” Another reason why air travellers do not prefer the Vayu Vajra is because of the crush during peak hours. “As our buses have a seating capacity of just 30 persons, people get irritated when they do not find seats. On their next trip to BIA, they invariably prefer to hire a taxi or get a family member to drop them at the airport,” another driver said.

Transit hassles
For frequent flyers, it’s plain logistics that deters them from boarding a Vayu Vajra bus. Explained Ramkumar T, a business development and marketing executive in a semi-conductor company on Hosur Road, “Reaching the bus stop from my residence is a major problem. Even when I return to the city by a late night flight and take a Volvo, I am fleeced by the autorickshaw drivers taking me from the Volvo bus stand to my house. As this was getting on my nerves, I now prefer to hire a car to reach the airport or return to the city. The cost works out to almost the same as using a Volvo, but the nuisance is reduced.”

This disinclination on the part of flyers to use the service is reflected in the calls at the BMTC control room. “We get hundreds of calls everyday seeking information on the Vayu Vajra services, and at the end of the conversation they say it would have been better had BMTC introduced a bus on a route near to their residence,” a control room official said.