In a bid to promote passenger traffic at the Basaveshwara Bus Terminal at Peenya, the Transport Department now wants the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to build a semi-automated travelator from Peenya Industry metro station to the terminal. The metro station and the bus terminal are 800 metres apart, but not integrated.
- Feasibility study of access points at Peenya Industry metro station and bus terminal to be taken up
- The metro station and
- the bus terminal are 800 metres apart, but not integrated
- A travelator is a moving walkway, typically
- used at airports
Mahendra Jain, managing director, BMRCL, and Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department, said they would take up a feasibility study of access points at the Peenya Industry station and the bus terminal to build the travelator. “We intend to build the travelator under the public-private partnership model, giving advertisement rights over the area for the investor,” he said. While the BBMP has built skywalks, if this materialises, it will be the first travelator in the city.
A travelator is a moving walkway, typically used at airports.
A stakeholder meeting on Thursday, chaired by Transport Minister H.M. Revanna, also proposed to build a metro station at the Peenya Metro Depot, just a few feet away from the bus terminal, and divert metro train services to the depot to service the bus terminal. BMRCL officials, however, expressed reservations over the proposal by raising concerns over the disruption in operations it will lead to.
The Basaveshwara Bus Terminal was built four years ago as part of the Transport Department’s project to build satellite bus terminals on highways leading out of the city to decongest the core areas. The terminal failed to take off owing to connectivity issues. Very few buses halt there and most of the stalls have shut down.
“BMTC buses used to ply here in the beginning, but now, even they have stopped. KSRTC buses stop here only as a formality because a circular was issued. However, no one uses them,” said B. Muniyappa, Assistant Traffic Manager.
One of the reasons for this is while KSRTC buses are asked to begin their trips from the satellite bus stands, private buses are allowed to start their trips in the core city.
“This only leads to loss of business to the KSRTC. So we were also forced to continue picking up passengers from the core area instead of stations such as Peenya,” a KSRTC official said.
Mr. Revanna said they would also try to develop the land abutting the bus terminal to accommodate private bus operators. “We will get the private buses operators to ply their buses here,” he said.
