BMTC specials run half-empty

BMTC specials run half-empty
Officials Claim High Occupancy On Special Buses, While Passengers Have A Few Complaints.
Even then...
Deepa Bhasthi | TNN

Bangalore: Exclusive buses for malls, dedicated buses for women and a separate bus service for hospitals. Sadly, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has found that there are not many takers for these special services.
BMTC, one of the country's few profit-making public transport corporations, introduced these services with a twin motive — to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road and bring down the number of such passengers on normal routes that ply schoolchildren and office-goers.
Passengers have their own complaints. The women's special buses, for instance, are not always available on the more frequented routes and during rush hour. BMTC officials themselves agree that the corporation does not get much out of these special services.
Several new initiatives are regularly introduced, from new routes to special services to daily passes and swanky air-conditioned buses. The Vajras and the Vayu Vajras to Bengaluru International Airport have been well-received, but the special dedicated services that ply around the city are yet to kick off.
BMTC MD Syed Zameer Pasha says that lower occupancy on women's special buses could be because other normal buses also have reserved seats for women. Regarding the introduction of more dedicated routes and increasing frequency, Pasha added that suggestions from passengers were welcome. "We are not short of buses and if the need arises, we will introduce more buses and increase the frequency of these dedicated services," he added.
WHERE DO THESE BUSES GO?
The 'Mall Special' service does the rounds from Shivajinagar bus stand to malls in the city's CBD. Likewise, the 'Hospital Special' covers three major hospitals. The women's special, the often seen pink bus, was introduced for the convenience of women passengers, especially during peak hours. Of the one dozen routes the pink buses ply on, some are partial special buses, where, due to requirements along other routes, the buses are only put on special service for women for some part of the day and used along other regular routes at other times. And then there was the green pass bus.
The projected occupancy level, though, is impressive. Officials say that occupancy for the mall and hospital specials is 65-70%, and 40-45% in the pink buses. Fares of these services are on par with normal routes.