Having suffered losses after commencing feeder service operations for Namma Metro, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is planning to rationalise the feeder routes as well as bus frequency from next week.
Even before Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) was ready to launch commercial operations, BMTC had kept its feeder service buses ready to provide the first and last mile connectivity for Namma Metro. However, the after-launch results for BMTC have not been favourable unlike the BMRCL, which has begun recovering the cost of operation in the initial days of the run.
Meagre earnings
While these buses should make a collection of at least Rs. 5.5 lakh per day to break even, a day's cumulative collection has been about Rs. 50,000, said M.P. Prabhudas, Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), BMTC.
The corporation had deployed 60 buses on 24 feeder routes for the six metro stations at a frequency of 10 minutes.
“At these rate of earning, we cannot continue the operations. This will reflect on our balance sheet also as we have suffered a loss of about Rs. 30 lakh so far. We are contemplating rationalising the routes as well as the frequency,” Mr. Prabhudas told The Hindu .
While the passenger flow for the Byappanahalli feeder services is considerably good, for other feeder services the response has been poor.
The average earnings per bus, which runs in two shifts, is about Rs. 2,000 on the Byappanahalli circuit and about Rs. 500 on the M.G. Road circuit, according to one of the conductors on a feeder bus.
Other routes
The conductor, who did not wish to be named, said that as a majority of the travellers on Namma Metro are tourists, who come from different parts of the city as well as the State to get a feel of the metro, bus connectivity should be diversified.
Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Station) has been connected with M.G. Road Metro Station with the introduction of Route No. 129D with a frequency of 15 minutes. Similar connecting services should be provided to BBMP Headquarters, Mysore Bank, Jayanagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwanthpur and other places from where people can come to M.G. Road, the conductor said.
Mr. Prabhudas said that the corporation had given feedback forms to feeder service commuters. “We have received a number of feedbacks on the service and will chalk out further course of action on the basis of the feedback,” he said.
“We are also contemplating running some of the services along the metro network. However, buses deployed for feeder services would not be withdrawn,” Mr. Prabhudas said.
Common card
Aditya Raj, who works for a private company on Cunningham Road and resides in Indiranagar, said that taking BMTC feeder services at Indiranagar and M.G. Road and in between travelling on Namma Metro is not only time consuming but also costly. Moreover, there is no common mobility card offering hassle-free travel across Metro and BMTC. He prefers riding the two-wheeler instead, Mr. Raj said.
