Citing severe commuter hardships due to reduced bus frequencies to the city’s transport hubs of Majestic, City Market and Shivajinagar, and multiple factory locations, the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) has urged the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to increase trips during peak hours from 6 am to 11 am and 3 pm to 8 pm. Here are the other demands articulated by the Vedike’s Vinay Sreenivasa and Shaheen Shasa in a memorandum to the BMTC Managing Director on Thursday:
Covid-19 has changed the mobility demand and patterns in the city. BMTC must initiate a systematic demand-mapping exercise to identify the existing and potential demand for bus services in the city.
Workers take shared autorickshaws to reach their workplaces on time, spending 30-50% of their daily earnings. A recent IISc study has highlighted the need for lower fares for short distance trips to improve the demand for bus services. Considering these, bus fares should be reduced.
Many commuters fear contracting Covid-19 from bus travel. BMTC should introduce stronger sanitisation measures to ensure safe commuting.
First Aid Boxes should be provided in all buses with clean and essential medical items. BMTC must ensure that the medicines stocked are within the expiry date.
Reduced bus services due to route diversion and infrastructure construction issues have affected mobility of domestic workers coming from Krishnapalya, Sevanagar, Jagadish Nagar, LR nagar, Laggere, Old Baiyappanahalli, New Baiyappanahalli, Hosakote, and heading towards Indiranagar, Domlur, HAL, NGEF, Doopanahalli, and Koramangala. BMTC should address their problems.