Bengaluru: BMTC offers free service today, will count ridership to assess public mood

BENGALURU: A Vayu Vajra bus ride from Electronics City to Kempegowda International Airport in Devanahalli costs Rs 335. Today, it is free.
On Monday alone (August 15), all BMTC rides including Vajra, Vayu Vajra airport services and non-AC buses across the city will be free for everyone on the occasion of its 25th anniversary (since BMTC formed) and India’s 75th Independence Day.

BMTC will run scheduled services of all 5,700 buses on Monday. “We’ll not be collecting fares but all buses will have conductors to get the data of ridership so we could assess how many passengers availed the facility. The idea of free bus ride on August 15 is to provide an opportunity to all sections of the society to experience our buses, mainly Volvo services and also to attract them towards public transport in the long run,” said BMTC managing director G Sathyavathi.
Many activists, passengers and NGOs have approached BMTC to perform live music/comedy shows/awareness campaigns inside buses/bus stations. However, a free bus ride is planned for August 15 and there are no other programmes,” said an official.
KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation president HV Ananta Subbarao said: “Providing free bus travel on one day is just a publicity gimmick. BMTC has failed to provide PF dues and post-retirement benefits like gratuity for its retired employees even after several years citing fund crunch. It is ready to give up daily revenue of Rs 3 crore by announcing this free ride.”
He said the BMTC is cutting down staff and reducing shifts, leading to a dip in frequency of buses after 6pm. “In many places, people wait at bus stops in large numbers during evening peak hours but senior officials sit in their AC rooms without making any visits to the bus stops/terminals. It has failed to run additional buses. It’s also a nightmare for people to travel in buses during rain. How are they going to address these issues to attract people to public transport?” he asked.

The number of BMTC buses has increased from 6,524 in 2014-2015 to 6,677 in 2017-2018, 6,690 in 2019-2020 and 6,800 now. However, the daily ridership shows a downward trend: 51.3 lakh in 2014-2015, 50.7 lakh in 2015-2016, 45.3 lakh in 2016-2017, 44.3 lakh in 2017-2018, 35 lakh in 33.1 in 2019-2020 and further dropped to 28-29 lakh now.
Officials said this is mainly because of work-from-home arrangement and the pandemic. “We’re running only 373 of 860 AC buses since most employees, especially techies, still have WFH,” said an official.
Pawan Mulukutla, an urban mobility expert, said: “Buses are the city’s lifeline and are an essential service. The government could start providing free bus rides to women and flat fares for other passengers. For instance, Rs 10 for 5km and Rs 15-Rs 20 for 10km. The state’s support is crucial in providing such schemes, otherwise they will not take off.”
Mulukutla said ridership will be less on Independence Day since it is a closed holiday for most people. “This free bus travel will benefit only a few. If the government is serious about promoting public transport, then it could provide free bus travel on a working day. Or it could make it free on a particular route. For instance, Tumakuru Road has more garment women workers. So, providing free rides for women on all buses plying on that route will make a big difference.``