BMTC takes a big hit as ridership falls

Bulk of commuters using metro

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has taken a hit after the Namma Metro Phase 1 became fully operational.

This, combined with the expansion of cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber and the authority’s inability to crack down on illegal operations of private maxi cabs and buses, has seen the BMTC daily ridership drop by about 5 lakh passengers. A bulk of its passengers are now relying on the metro to commute.

For the past two years, since the entire Purple Line of metro became operational and subsequently all of Phase 1, the BMTC has recorded a steady dip in ridership. In 2015-16, it was at 50 lakh a day, but the following year it dropped to 48 lakh. The latest figures, for 2017-18, show that only 45 lakh passengers used BMTC services on a daily basis.

This has adversely impacted the corporation’s revenue collection.