Metro commuters struggle to reach stations

BENGALURU: It has been over six weeks since the first Metro line of Phase-II was launched with much fanfare along Kanakapura Road. Though residents in this part of South Bengaluru were quite eager to use it, the absence of last-mile connectivity coupled with inadequate parking facilities is stoping many from using it. The five stations — Konanakunte Cross, Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Silk Institute — that dot the 6.29-km stretch of Reach 4B have seen poor patronage since they were opened for commercial operations on January 15. This has forced BMTC to cut down on the feeder buses it operated in the initial weeks. Without cycles or two-wheeler hire facilities, commuters are left to fend for themselves. 

Barring parking space for a few two-wheelers at these stations, there is no space for cars. A fleet of electric autos ‘Metro Ride’ helps public at Konanakunte Cross station as they ferry people for fares starting from Rs 10 to a pre-determined point near their homes. 

However, there is no parking space for these autos too. “The response has been good and we have completed 20,000 rides so far,” its CEO Girish Nagpal said.A senior BMTC official said the poor patronage forced them to reduce the 16 feeder buses being run from these stations to the interior areas, to 10. “We might go back to running 16 buses or even more, provided there is a good patronage. It is a huge loss to the BMTC to run buses along routes which fetch a revenue of Rs 3 or 4 per km as compared to Rs 30 per km on our regular buses ... this does not even help us meet diesel cost,” he said. 

Abdul Aleem, president of Changemakers of Kanakapura Road, an umbrella group of 60 RWAs said public wanted more buses. “We conducted a survey covering 3,500 residents on facilities needed to make them use the Metro. A majority wanted an increase in feeder buses that would touch stops near their homes,” he said. BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said the new stretch has a patronage of anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 commuters per day. However, he had no answers for what steps BMRCL would be taking to improve the last-mile connectivity here.

Measures that failed

• Poor patronage forces BMTC to reduce feeder buses from 16 to 10 along 
• Reach 4B
• It’s a loss for BMTC to run buses along routes which fetch a revenue of Rs 3 or 4 per km as compared to Rs 30 per km, says BMTC official
• ‘Metro Ride’—  A fleet of electric autos helps public at Konanakunte Cross station