BMTC, Bengaluru’s lifeline, needs to be revitalised to reduce congestion

Bengaluru: After Mumbai and New Delhi, Bengaluru is finally waking up to the demand for augmenting its bus fleet and reducing fares. The city, which once boasted of one of the best bus services in the country, is now struggling with fall in ridership which has dipped to 35.8 lakh in 2018-19 from 51.3 lakh in 2014-15. At 55 lakh, Bengaluru is also home to the second-highest two-wheelers in the country.
While successive governments pumped in crores towards Metro rail, it’s been only able to draw about 5 lakh daily ridership.The number could rise to roughly 20 lakh once all Phase 2 corridors are completed by 2024, but buses will continue to be the city’s primary lifeline.
Bengaluru roads can no longer afford to accommodate 80 lakh-plus private vehicles with peak-hour traffic speed already down to less than 10kmph. However, the number of BMTC buses in the city has been reduced from 6,775 in 2013-14 to 6,513 now. Ideally, there should be at least 120 buses per lakh population to have better bus services. The city should have about 14,000 or more buses.
In July, Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) reduced bus fares, drawing about 10 lakh additional passengers. In October, the Delhi government made state-run buses free for women passengers.
Chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced 6,000 new buses, including 3,000 electric ones which will be acquired on lease. He also promised to cut bus fares and have separate bus lanes on 12 high-density traffic corridors to encourage people to shift to public transport.
Corporation records show its traffic revenue was Rs 1,838 crore in 2018-19. In the same period, it suffered a cumulative loss of about Rs 340 crore and is now struggling to pay post-retirement benefits to its employees, maintain existing fleet and purchase new buses and spare parts.
The utility could reduce the fare by half if the government provides a financial assistance of about Rs 1,000 crore a year. However, this won’t be a significant amount considering the gains from minimising traffic congestion, accidents, parking woes, air and noise pollution.
“We are now calculating the impact if the fare is revised by 10%-20% and 30%-50% and will submit a report to the government. The government will take a decision based on the reimbursement amount to be paid after fare reduction. But we are hopeful that bus ridership will increase after the fare cut,” said a senior BMTC official.
“Our ridership has mainly reduced because of city’s traffic congestion. Buses will be faster than other modes once all major roads get bus-priority lanes,” he added. In fact, many people shifted to Metro and app-based cabs due to reliability factor.
Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder ,Citizens for Bengaluru said, “It’s a relief to see the government understand the importance of public transport and not resort to knee-jerk reactions like more flyovers — which only increase congestion and pollution — to control traffic. What now matters is for the government to deliver on mass public transit for Bengaluru.”