Ahoy! HOHO buses are SO-SO

Ahoy! HOHO buses are SO-SO

The hep Volvo vehicles didn't find too many takers on the second day

Senthalir S. Bangalore



The purported master-stroke of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to solve the traffic woes of the central business district (CBD), is yet to wow the city.
The Kendra Sarige, as the Hop On and Hop Off (HOHO) bus service is officially known, was launched by the BMTC on Tuesday amidst great fanfare.
But a day later, the city's core areas were not exactly enamoured of the HOHO Volvos with the buses running virtually empty, as was witnessed by this correspondent.
Commuters craned their necks only to refuse to board the hep buses draped in orange colours, while four-wheelers and two-wheelers continued to clog the CBD roads.
10 am, Wednesday: The perfect peak hour. This correspondent arrives at the Richmond Circle bus stop to get to know what it would be to flit around the city's up-market core areas in the trendy Orangeline bus.
There's no bus around. But a traffic controller at the bus stand waves a HOHO route map and thrusts it into my hand. "Only Rs 10 madam, you can go around the city," says the beaming traffic controller.
Soon an Orangeline bus approaches the stand. Before it grinds to a halt, a driver sneaks out of the window and yells:"Come in… you can reach Mayo Hall, Commercial Street… with only Rs10. It is only Rs10, you can go anywhere. Get in and go around the city…"
The driver's zestful announcement, however, makes little impression on onlookers. People curiously stare at the bus, with a grin on their face.
"Will this bus go to KR Puram?" asks a commuter. "No sir, you can get down at Trinity Circle for only Rs10 and take another bus from there," explains the driver. But no one boards the bus, barring this correspondent.
The driver however, is absolutely delighted at the lone commuter. He explains the route which his bus will take. At the next stop, Mayo Hall, there are again no takers.
The driver is not discouraged. He explains why the service is called Orangeline: "This is a Volvo bus madam. They have covered it with an orange plastic paper."
The conductor gets down at every stop to report to the controller. A traffic controller has been deployed at every stop to popularise the service among commuters. "People still don't know about the new buses. We have to explain it to them. The service will have teething problems in the first week," says a traffic controller.
All bus-stops on the route are adorned with boards announcing HOHO bus details and route maps.
The bus, meanwhile, moves on to Trinity Circle, through Hosmat in just 15 minutes. Stopping at Trinity Circle, the driver and the conductor get into a chat with the controller over their new assignment.
"At least a FM radio should have been fitted in the bus. It is really boring to travel with no passengers," cribs the driver to the controller.
The driver now decides to go on with spreading the word about the bus at every signal. He concentrates on a man in a car: "Sir, why do you bring out your car? Travel in this bus. With only Rs 10, you can see the city."
From Trinity Circle, the bus moves on to Commercial Street and Cubbon Road and reaches Mallya Hospital via Kasturba Road.
The drive is buoyed by the sight of two persons approaching the bus. He stops the bus and requests them to get in.
"Does it go to Ulsoor?" one of them asks. "You don't have direct bus from here. Please get in. We will drop you in Trinity Circle. You only have to pay Rs 10," the driver says.
"Is bus pass allowed?" asks the other person. "No madam, but with only Rs10 you can reach Trinity Circle," the driver repeats again. The two are not really impressed.
Soon we are back at the Richmond Circle stop, ending the loop.