Story by : Bhushan Mhapralkar

Tracing its origin to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and its subsequent bifurcation from KSRTC in August 1997, BMTC is banking upon its strong bottomline to tackle challenges.

There’s no challenge that is big enough that the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) can’t tackle states an employee at the Majestic bus depot in central Bangalore. There is reason to believe in the enthusiasm this employee flaunts. The ride from the Kempegowda International Airport in a modern, low-floor Volvo city bus has been comfortable. Albeit a stark contrast from the BEST Cerita air-conditioned bus. Not only does the Volvo low-floor city bus looked attractive and reflected a high build quality, the distance of approximately 50 kms was covered in silence, and at good speeds. A part of the BMTC fleet that accounts for 6437 buses, of which 700 are air-conditioned, the ride in an ordinary bus from Hoskote was not as bad either. The blue and white coloured ‘ordinary’ bus looked like it were in a good shape. It clearly wasn’t as comfortable as the Volvo, the ride nevertheless was not depressing to say the least. What presented a good idea of BMTC’s prowess was however the ride in the red coloured Vajra bus. The low-floor Volvo bus that originated from Whitefield is aimed at the young affluent crowd that works at the various tech parks found at Whitefield and other locations in and around Bangalore. It is air-conditioned, comfortable and swift. The only spoilsport is the Bangalore traffic congestion during peak hours. It is thus not a rare site to see a Vajra bus at the back of a long queue.

Tackling the infrastructural challenge

The transformation of Bangalore into India’s silicon valley has brought with it infrastructural challenges. Narrow roads and rising number of vehicles is a reason no doubt, The other reason is the lack of a strong public transport system. The rate at which the Garden city grew and expanded in all directions, it would be improper to blame BMTC for the lack of a solid public transport system. BMTC, on its part, has put up a strong show. As a modern option, the Metro in Bangalore is new and yet to reach out to a large amount of the population. It is not surprising therefore that Bangaloreans prefer to drive or ride to their work. Getting from one destination to the other in Bangalore is often a herculean task during the peak hour as thousands of cars and bikes take to the roads. A Rs.90 lakh Volvo city bus is at the mercy of the same precarious situation as a Rs.31 lakh Marcopolo bus; even the less costlier blue and white ‘ordinary’ bus. From the point of Total Cost of Operation (TCO), it may be safe to assume why BMTC opted for Volvo buses apart from the prospect of offering its travellers a safe and comfortable ride. Not clear yet? Here’s a clue. BMTC was the first city transport undertaking to put a BYD electric bus on trial. To present an idea about BMTC’s strong bottomline, which gives it the opportunity to experiment with new technologies in the field of transportation, it is important to consider that the last new bus bought was in December 2014.

BMTC buses are diesel powered

All BMTC buses are diesel powered. When diesel prices dropped a good deal beginning late 2014, BMTC gained a good deal. According to the BMTC spokesperson, the total consumption of diesel on an average per month is 105.89 litres. I had the opportunity to ride the BYD bus earlier. It may not be there any longer, what it did then, was leave a very positive impression. It also helped create a positive sentiment for BMTC. If the bus helped BMTC to portray an image of an undertaking that looks ahead of its times, the current fleet of Volvo air-conditioned buses more than make up for the void if any. In Mumbai, BEST is believed to have put on trail a few (Tata Marcopolo) CNG-electric hybrid buses.

Employing 36,037 people, and operating 6,437 buses out of 41 depots and 52 bus stations, BMTC ferries 50.76 lakh people every day. The city bus undertaking traces its origin to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and its subsequent bifurcation from KSRTC in August 1997. Stressing upon the good work put up by BMTC, an industry expert draws attention to how the undertaking devised a method to classify its buses based on their colour. The green series includes ordinary, big trunk and big circle services at ordinary fare. The orange series does the job of feeder services at ordinary fare. The blue series, also called as Vajra or Vayu Vajra, are air-conditioned. Bagging the National Award for a state transport undertaking with lowest accident record in 2013-14 from the ministry of road transport and highways, BMTC hiked fares in January this year. The minimum fare according to the BMTC spokesperson for an ordinary bus is Rs.5. For that of an air-conditioned bus is Rs.15.

While expansion of Metro is likely to attract those who were earlier confined to travelling by bus, the role a BMTC bus has come to play as a last mile connectivity solution is likely to remain unabated. On the positive side, the Metro will help a good deal in strengthening the public transport system and actually attract people to ride it as well as a bus rather ride or drive to the office, an industry expert opined. Until such a situation is reached, it is clear that Bangalore, like Mumbai, has a long way to go. A Japan model where buses work as feeder services and assure last mile connectivity, and metro connects the various parts of the city and its periphery (like Ginza, Shibuya, Akihabara, Ueno, etc.), could make a good inspiration.

Bangalore and Mumbai left out of the smart cities list

In the 98 smart cities’ list announced by the government, neither Bangalore features, nor Mumbai. While the funding for JNNURM Phase II has been stopped, it is not yet clear if the Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation (AMRUT) will touch cities other than those in the list. In its current state, depots make an important point to commence their journey for many Bangaloreans. The Shantinagar depot, which is claimed to be a modern bus station with all amenities integrated with Atal Bihari Vajpayee Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC), and is next to the central offices of BMTC and KSRTC, makes a good example. The buses at the depot look to be in a good shape. It does not come as a surprise later when the BMTC spokesperson explained that they have a standard practice of scrapping old buses based on age and the mileage clocked. BMTC buses that have covered eight-lakh kms and are over the age of 10 years (whichever is earlier) are scrapped. The criteria to choose new buses, the spokesperson informed, is based on specifications, terms and conditions. The pre-qualification criteria is finalised by the CMG (Contract Management Group).

BMTC depots

The depot at Shantinagar, belonging to BMTC was remodelled as a bus station with four bays. The first is for BMTC buses going towards Jayanagar, Koramangla, J.P. Nagar, Bannerghatta Road and Hosur Road. The second bay is for all buses going towards Shivajinagar, Kempegowda Bus Station, K.R. Puram (G-12) and Kengeri (G-6). The third bay is for all buses going to Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, etc.) The fourth bay is for all Tamil Nadu bound buses. Interestingly, there’s an air-conditioned lounge for passengers waiting for a bus to the Bengaluru International Airport. A visit to BMTC website, and listed are the major works undertaken at various depots, at depots under the JNNURM scheme, and at workshops. It does not take long to understand that BMTC is efficient in the way it conducts business. It will not do justice if the Majestic bus depot is not mentioned. Located opposite the Bangalore City Railway Station, this depot provides connectivity to almost all the areas of Bangalore. One portion of the bus station is used for intra-city buses by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) while the other side is used by out-station buses operated by various state road transport corporations. Since the real name of this depot is Kempegowda Bus Depot, buses terminating here often display signs as KBS or Kempegowda
Bus Station.

Eight hour shifts

Dense traffic and chaotic conditions are enough to think of a bus driver. BMTC spokesperson opined that the drivers are subjected to training regularly at BMTC’s advanced training center. BMTC drivers and conductors have an eight-hour work schedule. It is interesting to note that those who drive Volvo buses are trained at the Volvo training centre at Hoskote. To improve the operational efficiency and offer better service quality, BMTC has taken up an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) project. It is also in the process of employing a fleet optimisation software where-in the data from ITS project could be utilised as well. Banking upon tech specs prepared as per the AIS 052 Bus code when the need for procuring a new bus arises, BMTC operates over 6227 schedules in and around Bangalore, covering over 13.97 lakh kms with 80,000 trips. Ferrying 50.76 lakh passengers every single day, BMTC has been successful in tackling the challenge of addressing the varying needs of a city, which is continuously expanding. Mentioned BMTC spokesperson, that BMTC’s operational jurisdiction has expanded up to 25 kms from the boundaries of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Bangalore Municipal Corporation). Having achieved a turnover of Rs.2256.84 crore in FY15 over the turnover of Rs.2013.94 crore in FY14, it does not take much to understand that BMTC is banking upon a strong bottomline to address challenges.