BMTC board blues to end soon

BMTC board blues to end soon

Plans are afoot to have display boards on routes in kannada and english in blue buses

Bosky Khanna. Bangalore



Blue buses run by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) would soon sport light emitting diode (LED) boards announcing the routes they are taking in both Kannada and English languages.
The LED boards would be the same as the one displayed on other BMTC services like Volvo, Vayuvajra, HOHO and Pushpak buses.
Currently, most commuters are hampered by the route boards which are indecipherable and also only in Kannada language. They have to depend on co-passengers, drivers and conductors to make sense of them.
"Changing the language from Kannada to English in this public transport system is a sensitive issue and we cannot do it overnight,'' said a senior BMTC official on condition of anonymity. A proposal for bilingual route boards was made two years ago by experts, but was shelved.
"We are drawing up a plan to introduce LED boards in BMTC buses, which will display names of destinations in Kannada and English. It will be introduced in a phased manner,'' the official said.
Close to 38 lakh people travel in 5,300 BMTC buses everyday. The expenditure of manufacturing and installing one LED board is around Rs 1.28 lakh. Changing all boards would also depend upon the availability of funds, the official added.
Most Bangaloreans say it is difficult to commute by BMTC buses as they are unable to read the local language.
"I have learnt the bus route numbers of my route and ply only in those buses. But it becomes difficult on other routes. If the boards are in Kannada and English it will be very helpful and will not hurt the sentiments of anybody,'' said Naina K, a college student.
"Since I travel everyday, I have managed to learn some Kannada alphabets. I can read the name of my destination, Shivajinagar, in Kannada. But when I have to go on other routes, I am at sea. So I am trying to learn for other routes as well. Two of my friends also travel along with me and are unable to read or understand Kannada at all. I have to ask drivers and conductors about the route so that my friends can board their bus. Since Bangalore is a cosmopolitan city the boards should be both in English and in Kannada,'' said S Sanjay Lagley, a commute