Very few takers for BMTC’s hop on, hop off service

Very few takers for BMTC’s hop on, hop off service

Staff Reporter
BMTC’s HOHO service offers a flat fare of Rs. 10

It operates around the Central Business District

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

No patrons: BMTC’s hop on and hop off bus has evoked poor response.
BANGALORE: The Hop On, Hop Off (HOHO) service introduced by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in the second week of February, on the recommendations of the Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development (ABIDe), appears to be in real danger of becoming a joke.

ABIDe had suggested that shuttle services at high frequency be operated around the Central Business District (CBD), covering Mahatma Gandhi Road, on clockwise and anti-clockwise directions at Rs. 5 flat fare.

Very few passengers could be seen in the Orange and Blue Lines doing the rounds in opposite directions at any given point of time.

One could see Orange Lines waiting in queue in front of the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School stop on Richmond Road. Consequently, the number of buses — Volvo coaches costing around Rs. 80 lakh — on these routes have come down from nine each to three.

For a distance of around 9 km in the circuit of the “Kendra Sarige” service, BMTC collects a flat fare of Rs. 10.

Ranganath and Aniruddh, friends who wanted to go to Mahatma Gandhi Road from Hudson Circle, did not board this service saying they could go by autorickshaw, paying the minimum fare.

Maheshchandra, a businessman, who was bound for Mayo Hall took an ordinary BMTC bus bound for Krishnarajapuram, saying he could reach the place at half the “Kendra Sarige” fare. K. Ravindranath, who hopped on to the bus, was glad to get a seat but was surprised to be the lone passenger. Curious, he started talking to the crew who told him the previous day’s takings were a mere Rs. 200 even as the plush bus clocked around 200 km.

Immanuel Joseph, a businessman from Ulsoor, said the move to confine these services around M.G. Road was flawed. “Most people visiting M.G. Road and Commercial Street do not travel by buses,” he said.

The services would not serve any purpose if they did not touch K.R. Market, Majestic or Mysore Bank Circle and Shivajinagar, where people moved in large numbers across the points, Mr. Joseph said. BMTC, however, is hopeful that the “Kendra Sarige” service would become popular over a period of time. “Even the “Vayu Vajra” service to the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) met with a lukewarm response initially but now it has picked up,” said the BMTC.

ABIDe had promised to get vehicular parking eliminated in the CBD, thereby forcing people to use public transport, it said.

On day one, the earning per km was just Rs. 4 and now it has reached Rs. 9, it said. A flat fare of Rs. 5 could not be implemented as it was too low to sustain the operations. Even at Rs. 10 flat fare, it was difficult to break even though the buses might be full.