Bus Day-II gets whopping response from commuters

Bus Day-II gets whopping response from commuters
More Routes Included This Time Event Planned For 4th Of Every Month
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: For the second month in a row, Bangaloreans showered tremendous support on public transport, all day long, giving boost to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s (BMTC) Bus Day initiative. Planned for the 4th of every month, this is the corporation’s second Bus Day, organized to encourage more people to take buses to work or college, at least once every month.
When the first one was organized in February on an experimental basis, the initiative was welcomed with great enthusiasm. It was action replay on Thursday with more people boarding buses from Majestic and several other places. While the first Bus Day last month was introduced on two IT corridors of Hosur Road and Old Airport Road, on Thursday, more buses took to roads from Old Madras Road, Bannerghatta Road and Sarjapur Road.
MORE BUSES THIS TIME
BMTC officials said that 100 additional buses had been put into service along these roads, including Volvos and other category of buses. Each of the depots along these routes had, however, been given the discretion to decide if they had to press more buses into service, depending on passenger traffic. Buses plied on these routes from different parts of the city like Vijaynagar, Yeshwantpur, Koramangala, Shantinagar, Jayanagar, Hebbal, Banashankari and others. About 50 local feeder services were also introduced in the areas.
BIGGIES TOO ENJOY THE RIDE
Transport minister R Ashoka, after a public function at Banashankari, also boarded a bus to Vidhana Soudha. Actress Tara was also seen taking the bus from Majestic to K G Road.
While there was much enthusiasm at all depots, Majestic saw a huge crowd waiting to board the buses. Additionally, what helped were the posters that were stuck on several buses announcing the fourth of every month being observed as Bus Day. Janani Varadaraj, a techie working at ITPL said she had read about it in the newspapers and online and she and her colleagues decided to take the bus to work. Would they make it a regular thing? “I wouldn’t mind, if the services remain good. I wouldn’t want to get into the normal buses though, they are too sickly and its tiring, especially in summers. But as long as I wouldn’t have to wait too long for Volvos, I really wouldn’t mind the bus instead of the hassle of driving to work,” she added.
A GREAT INITIATIVE
Several college students were overheard discussing the initiative. While one said that taking the bus once a month wouldn’t make any noticeable difference to the city, his friend argued that it was good for a start, “maybe more people will start making it a habit. It is a great initiative”, she said.
BMTC MD Syed Zameer Pasha said that the response from passengers had been very good on Thursday. “Based on the feedback from last month, we introduced additional services on more corridors. The ITPL, Electronic City corridors are most popular, even the feeder services were helpful. The initiative was very well received in all sectors,” he said.
The BMTC will study responses from the second Bus Day and then take a call on whether more corridors should be brought under the initiative from next month. A decision will be taken in the next few days, said Pasha.
The corporation had conducted a survey to get feedback from the public about the initiative. The exact number of passengers, the response and the additional revenue will be out by Friday evening, he added. In February, the BMTC got an additional Rs 3-4 lakh takers on Bus Day, with passenger traffic increase by 4-5%, they expect similar increases this month also.
BMTC GETS A BOOST
While the first Bus Day last month was introduced on two IT corridors of Hosur Road and Old Airport Road, on Thursday, more buses took to roads from Old Madras Road, Bannerghatta Road and Sarjapur Road
Transport minister R Ashoka, after a public function at Banashankari, boarded a bus to Vidhana Soudha
Majestic saw a huge crowd waiting to board the buses
The BMTC will study responses from the second Bus Day and then take a call on whether more corridors should be brought under the initiative from next month