Route rationalisation after Metro

Route rationalisation after Metro



Express Featrures First Published : 19 Apr 2009 12:22:00 PM IST
BANGALORE: The BMTC has decided to wait for the metro rail operations to begin to rationalise its existing routes. The corporation has decided this as changing the routestructure now and operating buses with new numbers and new destinations might cause confusion among the regular and long-time commuters.“We understand that new route system based on the current traffic scenario and travel needs would help the BMTC improve its services and also help commuters. But it would also create confusion. Changing routes or bus numbers often might cause resentment among the public,” said a senior official at BMTC. When the metro rail starts operations by the end of 2010, BMTC routes will have to be rationalised so that the city bus service acts as a feeder to the rail system. “While restructuring the routes to suit metro operations, the hole routing system would be changed to avoid frequent confusion and commuters
would have to adapt themselves to the changes only once,” the official said. Rationalisation of routes could mainly mean adopting trunk and feeder services.
In this system, a main trunk route is chosen to which many short route feeders connect at different points. The recently introduced Big10 service
follows the trunk route system however without a change in the entire route structure, frequent feeder services are not available on all routes to Big10. On
several routes, Big10 competes with the other long-route buses, which sometimes have the same origin and destination as a Big10 bus on that route.
Ineffective communication The BMTC is especially apprehensive about changing the route structure due to lack of public awareness of the changes. “We have learnt from many past experiences that in spite of reports in the media, advertisements and boards at bus shelters, a large section of our commuters remain unaware of the changes, new services or offers. This makes us think twice about rationalisation of routes, which would affect a majority of commuters, who may or may not be media-savvy or even be literate,” the BMTC official said.