At a meeting on Saturday, a diverse group of activists, ranging from bus commuters and public transport experts to members of transport trade unions, gathered to discuss a public campaign on improving the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus service and reducing bus fares.
While some made a case for reducing the fare, others said too much focus and funding was being diverted to the Namma Metro. The meeting was organised by the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (BBPV), a group that campaigns against bus fare hikes.
H.S. Sudhira, a researcher at Gubbi Labs and public transport expert, spoke about “huge anomalies” in the formula the government uses (prescribed in a 2000 government order) to compute hikes in bus fare. He said the emphasis was on profitability, while public services must focus on accountability and social benefits. He said while the government had spent Rs. 650 crore to build infrastructure to the airport that services about 30,000 commuters a day, a central area like Majestic that has an estimated footfall of 10 lakh commuters per day was congested and underdeveloped.
Former Transport Minister P.G.R. Sindhia, said the State government should forego the BMTC’s taxes, which will help slash fares. “Fares must be absolutely low and buses should be given more prominence in transport planning,” he said.
Nagaraju of the KSRTC Employees Union said the staff per bus ratio has fallen drastically over the years, which means employees have to work 12-hour shifts and are poorly paid. “Each bus is supposed to ferry 60 passengers but there are times when close to 125 passengers are ferried. It is in our interest that the BMTC system be improved and made more efficient.”
The vedike demands a new structure under which passengers would pay Rs. 5 (for the first 10 km), Rs. 10 (10-20 km) and Rs. 15 (for above 20 km). The monthly pass should be brought down to Rs. 250, while a daily pass should not exceed Rs. 25, the vedike demands.
