Rerouting of HOHO has yet to lure daily commuters in Bangalore

Rerouting of HOHO has yet to lure daily commuters in Bangalore

Staff Reporter
The Orange and Blue Line buses touch Majestic and Shivajinagar
BANGALORE: Following the lukewarm response from Bangaloreans for its HOHO (hop on, hop off) services around the central business district (CBD), the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) had revised the routes of these services and made them touch Majestic and Shivajinagar — the two major transportation hubs in the city.

The HOHO service, comprising Orange and Blue Lines, used to operate around the CBD on the suggestion from the Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development (ABIDe), with a flat fare of Rs. 10. Brand new and attractively painted Volvo coaches (nine each) were deployed on these routes. Still, few commuters made use of the service. This prompted BMTC to rework the routes.

The reworked routes touch Majestic on the one end and the Lalbagh Main Gate on the other, covering several prominent localities in the central parts of the city.

The Blue Line operates on the Majestic- Majestic route via K.R. Circle, Vidhana Soudha, Indian Express, M.G. Road, Commercial Street, Trinity Circle, Garuda Mall, Lifestyle, Shanthinagar, Lalbagh Main Gate, Lalbagh West Gate, before terminating at Majestic via J.C. Road.

The Orange Line, on the Majestic-Majestic route, plies via Corporation, Lalbagh Road, Lalbagh Main Gate, Shanthinagar, Mayo Hall, Garuda Mall, Commercial Street, M.G. Road and Shivajinagar, before terminating at Majestic. While the fare is Rs. 25 for the entire round, the maximum fare for a single journey is around Rs. 15 (for example, between Lalbagh Main Gate and Commercial Street, or Commercial Street to Majestic) while the minimum fare is Rs. 5. The fare between Shivajinagar and Majestic is Rs. 10.

Mixed response
Along with the HOHO, the BMTC had also introduced the BIG 10 services on ABIDe’s suggestion, between the city centre and the outskirts, plying on the arterial roads. Over 100 new Suvarna-type buses, painted in attractive green with graphics, had been deployed on 10 trunk routes. They are being operated at a frequency of 15 minutes.

Officials as well as the public felt that more commuters would have used the services had they touched major bus stations — Majestic or Shivajinagar — and there was a need for route rationalisation.

Feedback
Despite rationalising and restructuring the routes of Blue and Orange Lines, few commuters patronise these posh air-conditioned services. Though these buses are operated at a frequency of around five minutes, there are few takers for them either at major bus stations or en-route.