The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is looking to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to provide land for feeder services near Baiyappanahalli metro station. The aim is to improve last-mile connectivity, make the service more commuter friendly and cut down operational cost.
Based on suggestions by the Directorate of Urban Land and Transport (DULT), the BMTC is thinking of starting feeder services from the parking area that belongs to BMRCL adjacent to Baiyappanahalli railway station. It also wants the city traffic police to give their buses access to NGEF road to reach this place.
“We want to make the feeder service from Baiyappanahalli more effective. At present, we have operational difficulties. Feeder buses coming from the Tin Factory side have to run an extra 3.5 kilometres to take a U-turn and then enter S.V. Road metro station. Not only is it time consuming, it also takes a long time for users to enter the station area due to heavy traffic on Old Madras Road,” said a BMTC official.
If the BMRCL provides space for buses in its parking lot, BMTC will be able to cut down on dead kilometres (3.5) as buses need not go till S.V. Road metro station. “The newly identified place will be convenient for commuters. Railway passengers can also use the feeder services,” the official added.
Some of the services will continue be operated from S.V. Road metro station. “At present, feeder services start from S.V. Road, but over 80% of metro passengers use the feeder services from the Baiyappanahalli metro station. There is no proposal to cancel feeder services from S.V. Road, but the number of the services originating from this point could be reduced,” said the BMTC official.
A source in DULT said that it will come out with a final report after holding deliberations with stake-holders, like BMTC, BMRCL, traffic police and others.
Unlike other metro stations, S.V. Road has bus bays, but the bus crew of the BMTC say they are facing several problems. A BMTC driver said, “We have to go a long way from the metro station to take a U-turn. There were several instances of traffic police imposing a penalty on us for taking a U-turn a few hundred metres away from the station. To avoid getting penalised, we go a little further before taking a U-turn.”
The BMTC operates over 20 ordinary services and 30-odd AC services from this point to various locations like ITPB, Vaidehi, ORR and other areas. Ordinary buses generate more revenue than the AC buses.
‘May reduce number of buses’
After the entire phase I was made operational, ridership in Namma Metro touched 4 lakh per day. However, the metro feeder services operated by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are yet to hit the projected patronage.
The BMTC operates 160-odd services every day from various metro stations on the both the Purple and Green lines. Except at Baiyappanahalli and S.V. Road stations, other services have been receiving poor response.
The Corporation is incurring loss of Rs 1.50 crore per month. An official of the BMTC said, “We are contemplating cutting down the number of services. But that will happen gradually, and only in stations where there is hardly any response. At present, buses are running at 50% capacity. It’s only on services from Baiyappanahalli and S.V. Road stations that we have managed to break even,” said an official.
