Now, eat your way through BMTC rides

Now, eat your way through BMTC rides

Volvo buses plying to Electronic City, BIAL and ITPL are equipped with a mobile restaurant

Shwetha S. Bangalore



BMTC Volvo buses plying on the ITPL, Electronic City and BIAL routes will now sport a mobile restaurant.
Transport minister R Ashok said that six buses-two on each route-were selected and trial runs of this initiative had begun three weeks ago. BMTC received an overwhelming response for this initiative from the public and has thus tied up with Commutedine agency to set up the mobile restaurants in the selected buses.
This DNA correspondent decided to discern the experience and response of passengers travelling between Kempe Gowda bus station and BIAL.
Hopping into a BIAS Route No 9 bus from Kempe Gowda, she was approached by a steward who explained the new initiative and offered her a menu card. He repeated his courtesies to every passenger entering the bus.
Out of curiosity, most passengers started ordering snacks like burgers, sandwiches and juices. Soon after a passenger finished eating, the steward came back to clear the empty trays.
This correspondent then checked on the quality of the food being offered and found that BMTC had made provisions for an insulator to keep the food fresh and warm.
BMTC has made it a point to have only fresh food stored in the insulator. Therefore, once a bus completes a round trip, the food remaining in the bus is removed and replenished with fresh stock.
Vishnu Murali Konduru, managing director of Commutedine, said, "We worked for almost 26 months to bring about a satisfying response from the public. Over the last three weeks, we worked across the three routes of ITPL, Electronic City and BIAL. In all the routes we received gratifying response from the public."
Ashok stated that he now plans to regularise the service across these routes on a regular basis, along with the nearly 2,000 Volvo buses plying across the city. He added that the government is also toying with the idea of introducing the same facility in intra-state Volvo buses too.
After reaching Devanahalli, this correspondent returned to Kempe Gowda bus station with an altogether new experience. Passengers who had just landed at BIAL and took the bus were again welcomed with the same courtesy by the steward. However, after a good meal during their flight, it looked like none of them were prepared to try the dishes available on the wheels.
Soon after reaching Kempe Gowda bus station, a man holding fresh food was waiting near the coach. He handed over the fresh food to the steward and collected the old food packets.
Ajith Sharma, a commuter on the route today, said, "It's a great initiative by the BMTC to make it a more passenger-friendly bus. I have not come a cross this system in any place across India. My only suggestion is that they should introduce more varieties of food items and fresh juice, this will make it a perfect journey."
s_shwetha@dnaindia.netBon Appetit: Passengers on a BIAL Volvo bus savour the snacks served by a steward of a mobile restaurant