MINISTER BAN GAYA CATERER

MINISTER BAN GAYA CATERER
BMTC takes another step forward by offering food and beverages to commuters aboard its BIA-bound Vayu Vajra bus
GAYATRI NAIR


Now, I have become a caterer also.” This is what transport minister R Ashok jokingly said as he was asked to give food and beverages to passengers on board Volvo Vayu Vajra BIAS-9 on Friday.
When he did it on the bus (KA 01 FA 2110), it marked the beginning of a new experiment by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), that of serving food passengers while on the move.
Conceptualised by a private catering company Commu-Dine, the move is geared at coaxing people to use public transport more instead of pulling out their cars for city travel, especially to the Bangalore International Airport (BIA).
NO MISSING FOOD
“People travelling to and from the airport usually have a tendency to miss meals. In such cases, this concept will come in handy. Sometimes they might miss breakfast when catching early morning flights, but now they don’t have to worry because the bus will have everything stacked,” said Ashok.
Ashok also hopped onto a bus and interacted with the passengers, educating them on BMTC’s latest invention. Giving a tray of food, consisting burger, sandwich and chilled coconut water, to a passenger Kavitha Das employed with the Jet Airways, Ashok said, “This meal comprises a number of items for you to choose from and relish. This facility has been introduced for the first time and some passengers who have opted for this have completely enjoyed themselves.”
COMMUTE AND DINE
Vishnu Murali Konduru, founder of the company CommuDine, which is doing the catering for the buses, said, “This is not just a normal meal. We have tried experimenting here. For example, we have something called Indo-Chinese burger. Moreover, at different times we have different food available and our list comprises items like Neer Dosa, Khara Baat, among others. The prices are also reasonable, everything here is below Rs 30.”
But right now, only one bus, that is BIAS 9, has this service. “We were on trial on the past three weeks. Now, we have just started in one bus because there are a lot of things that need to be worked out like logistics. But we will keep introducing this in more buses, covering more routes. Our target is to add 25 to 30 buses every month,” said Konduru.
BOOK-ING PLAN

• Introduce chocolates. Also introduce cake delivery systems. Konduru said, “We have already put both these ideas rolling. If anyone boards a Volvo from one place and suddenly wants to order for a cake, they can place the order with us and we will have it delivered to their doorstep.”

• Ashok also felt books could also be introduced which the passengers can either rent out or buy.The rent can be collected at the end of the ride.