127 BMTC Volvo buses offer free Wi-Fi, but not many know about it

BENGALURU: You may not know it, but your regular BMTC Volvo bus might have free Wi-Fi facility. BMTC, along with a private firm, recently installed free Wi-Fi in 127 Volvo buses, but there are no display boards informing passengers about this facility.

BMTC officials said the private firm will have to display stickers behind every seat and outside the bus so that people know about the Wi-Fi facility. “The firm had installed Wi-Fi facility in several Volvo buses a few months ago, but they are yet to put up boards displaying the same. We have now asked them to put up display stickers at the earliest so that passengers travelling in these buses can access the facility,” said a senior BMTC official.

This is part of the free Wi-Fi plan in 200 Volvo buses announced in 2015. However, the facility will be available only in new Volvo buses.

BMTC officials said they have reduced the project from 200 Volo buses to 150 as the mechanical department and Volvo have not given permission to instal the facility in old Bharat Stage 3 (BS3) Volvo buses because of technical issues. “We’re now installing Wi-Fi only in about 150 new BS4 Volvo buses,” he said. The corporation has 860 Volvo buses.

“Passengers travelling in new Volvo buses along the IT corridors and to and from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will benefit from the scheme,” said an official. The free on-board Wi-Fi facility in buses is expected to attract passengers who had shifted to private cabs like Ola and Uber.

“The idea to have free onboard Wi-Fi on BMTC buses is good,” said Niranjan S, a regular passenger. “We spend a lot of time in buses. So, it makes sense to use free internet. But they should also ensure good speed.”

According to the agreement by BMTC with the private firm, commuters will get free internet with a minimum bandwidth speed of 7.2mbps in Wi-Fi-enabled buses. While the data limit is fixed at 30MB per passenger, the firm is allowed to charge commuters for downloading data. The cost of internet data use, equipment and installation will be borne by the private firm. Officials said they will extend the facility to about 1,000 non-AC buses based on the response.

In 2010, BMTC provided free Wi-Fi facility in Vayu Vajra buses at airport. But the project was scrapped later as the firm backed out.