BENGALURU: With the government mulling a 15%-18% hike in fares of
BMTC buses, their ridership is likely to go down further, which will only worsen Bengaluru’s twin troubles of
traffic congestion and pollution.
BMTC ridership is dipping with every fare revision as many passengers are shifting to cheaper options like carpooling and two-wheelers. The city is home to the second-highest two-wheeler population in the country (52.5 lakh). Any further drop in ridership will result in more traffic chaos and pollution as it will only push commuters towards private vehicles, say activists.
The government, which is going ahead with multi-crore elevated road projects, is not ready to provide adequate financial assistance to the cash-strapped bus corporation. Though BMTC has not jacked up ticket prices since 2014, Bengaluru still has one of the highest
bus fares in the country.
At present, the minimum charge for stage 1 or a two-km journey is Rs 5 for ordinary buses and Rs 10 for AC ones. Similarly, a monthly pass for a non-AC bus costs Rs 1,050 and for AC Rs 2,363.
Vinay Sreenivasa of Bus Prayanikara Vedike, an NGO campaigning for better public transport, said: “BMTC’s ridership declined by 8% after the fare hike in 2014. The service will not be affordable for many, particularly daily-wage workers, if rates go up. Many people may shift to two-wheelers and unsafe private transport services.”
BMTC records show that daily ridership has been steadily declining over the years – 51.3 lakh in 2014-15, 50.7 lakh in 2015-16 and 48.2 lakh in 2016-17. It has reduced to about 45 lakh now. In addition to Namma Metro and app-based cabs, high fares are also blamed for the decrease in number of takers.
“With ridership falling, BMTC should reduce fares and double its fleet to attract more people. When the government is spending thousands of crores of rupees on big infrastructure projects, it should provide adequate financial assistance to BMTC as well,” said Sreenivasa.
‘Needed: Dedicated lanes, ban on street parking’
However, BMTC managing director V Ponnuraj said getting financial aid from the government will not improve the efficiency of services. “The government needs to enable the STU to perform better rather than sponsor it. We can make BMTC profitable if the government grants facilities like dedicated bus lanes, ban on street parking, bus priority signalling and mandating commercial establishments, factories and IT parks to ensure 40% their occupants use public transport. More satellite bus stands need to be built and all outstation buses should be stopped there,” he said.
“BMTC is the cheapest but also the slowest and most inconvenient option, which is why people prefer other modes. If the government makes it the fastest, we will make it convenient and it will have no competition,” said Ponnuraj. “For people to switch to buses, road space should be reallocated: 50% for buses, 10% for walkers and only 40% for cars. This can be done without any financial aid,” he added.
However, activists feel the corporation needs financial help. “The government should extend assistance to BMTC to ease its burden. Reduction in bus fares will bring down traffic congestion in the city. In fact, BMTC’s ridership had increased when they decreased fares,” said Srinivas Alavilli of Citizens for Bengaluru.
BMTC is operating on several loss-making routes and providing concessional passes to students and differently abled passengers .
BMTC buses
