Where do the buses stop?

Where do the buses stop?
Poornima Nataraj, Bangalore,DH News Service:
Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 12:00 [IST]

A few weeks ago, a senior citizen waiting at the Corporation bus stop was on the verge of being hit by a BMTC bus just outside the BBMP main office. If he was lucky, many others were not, apparently due to the way the bus stops were designed and the confusion of proper signages.


Indira Sudhakar, an LIC employee, who regularly takes the BMTC bus at Corporation junction put it aptly when she said: “Even though I travel daily, I do not know where my bus stops. I need to be alert and keep a watch so that I don't miss my bus when it arrives.”
Chaos prevails in some of the prominent bus stops in the City as buses haphazardly stop with little respect for the signages. Commuters prefer not to stand at the shelters provided as most of the buses do not stop near them.

The Corporation bus stop is a pretty busy one. Buses travelling to Hosur Road, Koramangala, BTM Layout, JP Nagar and Jayanagar stop here creating confusion among commuters.

Rajiv Gandhi Circle

At the Rajiv Gandhi Circle stop on SC Road, another busy junction, it is a common sight to see commuters standing beside the grills of the Circle even though a stipulated bus stop is built inside the Circle premises.

A bakery owner, Leela, who regularly witnesses the chaotic crowd in front of her shop says, “The bus stop is built only for a crowd of 20-30 commuters. But I have seen around 200-300 people waiting for buses. Where do you expect them to stand?"

At peak hours, schoolchildren, office goers including public coming out of cinema halls crowd at this junction occupying the road space and blocking the free flow of traffic.

Shashi Rekha, staff from Sheshadripuram College says, “Buses never stop at the bus stop. Many a times they stop in the middle of the road making it extremely difficult for us to board them.”

This particular stop has buses going to Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, Kamalanagar, Rajajinagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Vidyaranyapuram and Srirampura.