BMTC will run scheduled providers of all 5,700 buses on Monday. “We’ll not be collecting fares but all buses will have conductors to get the data of ridership so we could assess how many passengers availed the facility. The idea of free bus ride on August 15 is to provide an opportunity to all sections of society to experience our buses and attract them towards public transport,” stated BMTC MD G Sathyavathi.
Free rides for a day won’t make an iota of distinction, particularly since BMTC offers insufficient providers after 6pm resulting from a scarcity of employees. Given the specter of Covid-19, none would need to journey in overcrowded buses. Individuals will routinely swap to public transport if there are extra buses, higher frequency, and good first and last-mile connectivity. The utility should make providers accessible, dependable, and environment friendly. Inducting minibuses on congested stretches is a sound first step. However for this to occur, the federal government should loosen its purse strings.
Many activists, passengers and NGOs have approached BMTC to carry out dwell music/comedy reveals/consciousness campaigns inside buses/bus stations. However solely free bus trip is deliberate for August 15,” said an official.
KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation president HV Ananta Subbarao said: “Offering free bus journey on in the future is only a publicity gimmick. BMTC has failed to supply PF dues and post-retirement advantages like gratuity for its retired staff citing fund crunch. It’s prepared to surrender day by day income of Rs 3 crore with this free trip.”
He said the BMTC is cutting down staff and reducing shifts, leading to dip in frequency of buses after 6pm. “In lots of locations, individuals wait at bus stops in massive numbers throughout night peak hours however seniors officers sit of their AC rooms with out making any visits to the bus stops/terminals. It has didn’t run further buses,” he requested.
The variety of BMTC buses has risen from 6,524 in 2014-2015 to six,677 in 2017-2018, 6,690 in 2019-2020 and 6,800 now. Day by day ridership reveals a downward pattern: 51.3 lakh in 2014-2015, 50.7 lakh in 2015-2016, 45.3 lakh in 2016-2017, 44.3 lakh in 2017-2018, 35 lakh in 33.1 in 2019-2020, and all the way down to 28-29 lakh now.
Full report: toi.in
