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New reforms to be implemented(BMTC)
Written By shashi kumar y - 4 February, 2011
Bangalore BMTC Bus suggestion Transportation public transport
Many have already posted about this topic in a different way so as to how make BMTC effective in terms of providing service.
Following are my views mainly in terms of operational:
1** BMTC needs to do a survey all over the bangalore every year or atleast once in two year so as know the passenger demand
and on basis of that different connecting routes needs to introduced also the no. of buses needs to be allotteed to that route
number.
2** the officials and the depot managers should enforce a strict rule where in the crew should complete the allotted duty hours.
Because at present the almost many crew end the duty by 9pm. If we look at the statistics, around 60% in BMTC driver/conductor work for less than 7 hours 30 minutes (this inlcudes the break time too).
NOTE: the above doesn't apply to GENRAL SERVICE BUSES AS THEY PLY FOR 10HRS.
3** The officials should frame new timings where in all crews need to work for 8hrs(approx.). Why approx.??? Becoz the completion of 8hrs may takes place at far away place as compared to the respective depot of crew. Hence approx 8hrs.
4** The SHIFT(DOUBLE DUTY-8HRS) SERVICE should start at 6:30am and end b/w 2:15pm- 2:30pm. The next should start at 2:30pm-2:45pm and end at 10:30pm-10:45pm. There by public will have bus service till 10:00pm for sure.
LOOK AT PRIVATE COMPANIES employes WHERE IN IF OUR LOGIN HOURS DOESN'T MEET 9HRS(Icluding the break), deduction in salary will take place or we need to extend our working hrs.
5** The dept needs to cater to all sections of society with various types of services and henece needs to procure buses of various seating capacity.
6** It needs to stop dumping a particular route buses to one particular depot because that creates problem of public in terms of getting service.
Example: Consider Route 2- There are around 15 buses alloted for this route. Out of the 15 buses, 12 buses are alloted to depot -4(jayanagar) which causes trouble to public during noon and late night b/w 8pm and 9pm.
How the trouble araises: As we know, in the double shift service, crew change takes place b/w 1pm - 2pm. So all the double shift buses will be either at JAYANAGAR 4th blk or at JP nagar 6th phase. Because of this people at the other end (MAJESTIC) will have to wait till 2pm and beyond for thses buses to come to KBS considering the crew change happpend at 1pm & then 1hr journey.
Some examples 18(D-4), 215H(d-34),171(d-15/25) etc.
BMTC officials needs to distribute(official term "allot") the buses of a particular route no. to depots along the route.
7** They need to procure the electronic ticketing machine so as to stop misleading/ corruption done by the conductors.
It has more advantage if the whole BMTC org is computerized.
The buses need to be maintained in good condition(inner lighting, daily cleaning, daily washing throughly outside[not for the name sake], checking whether the rear brake lightsworking, proper board lighting, checking of indicators rear, front, side top). People may ask why the above??? Just tell how ordinary buses brake light or indicators are in working condition except VOLVO. The signals are very important from genral road users point of view.
The above are my suggestions or ideas. I have posted it in a short form!!! ( Yes it is very lenghty but the idea I have in my mind can only be dicussed openly but can't be written)
Looking forward for many more suggestions and ideas from users/ readers.
COMMENTS
murali772 - 9 March, 2011 - 08:43
So, the moral of the story appears to be that since private operators do not/ will not come forward to provide high-end bus services, because they are not (cannot ever be) profitable, the state should provide it, allowing for necessary subsidies, in the interest of reducing congestion on city roads, as well as safety. And, this argument does not hold for other services like water, power, schooling, healthcare, etc, since unlike with all of them, the buses run on the same roads as all the other vehicles.
So, that's what is 'peculiar' about PT, which is the point I was trying to make earlier. Whatever, let me re-affirm that I am not the least convinced.
About BEST - Though, there are enough Mumbaikars who talk highly of BEST, I am not supportive of monopoly there, either. In fact, I am not a supporter of any kind of an 'un-natural' monopoly anywhere.
About "common ticketing" - it will require the same level of technical capacity amongst the participants. Delhi Metro gave up on NDMC (the bus service provider) on this aspect. BMTC has a long way to go too, going by this and many other reports.
Excerpts from 'Bus Karo' report - These were from the report to which Vasanth had provided a link to in his post made on the 22nd Feb (just scroll above).
private bus services in Ullal & Bejai & Maroli (all in Mangalore)
Whatever, their services are better than the KSRTC services in their monopoly domains. And, pray, why is KSRTC confining itself to just high-end services, leaving their constituents - the aam aadmi at the mercy of the 'private sector marauders'?
Talking about education or healthare - IISC, IITs & IIMs are the best institutions - govt owned. Likewise, AIIMs is one of the best hospitals (again govt owned). So, it doesn't necessarily mean that all govt owned institutions are bad. Some are the best in their league too, primarily due to govt support & subsidy in some form or the other.
So, we now get into the public vs private argument - enough of that has already happened here already, and it's best confined there.
Privatization of city bus services has resulted in chaos, deaths & heavy corruption, not to mention the depravation of services to commuters.
For all that, here's a mother who is quite happy using the Kochi buses even when travelling with her infant child - check this
on majority view
Well, even if the majority of Prajagalu are perhaps not ready yet to demand opening up the services to the private sector, going by the contents here, they seem to have more or less given up on trying to improve the BMTC services, quite like their many prdecessors. So, what now remains perhaps is to start a "BMTC abhimaanigala sangha" for this 'most vibrant' organisation in this most vibrant city, alongwith the "BESCOM Commuter Advisory and Facilitation Committee", cited here, whose aims and objects are more or less on similar lines.
pathykv - 4 February, 2011 - 16:47
Simple Tips On Not Losing Balance in Buses And Subway Trains - Medindia News
http://www.medindia.net/news/Simple-Tips-On-Not-Losing-Balance-in-a-Buses-And-Subway-Trains-80366-1.htm
K.V.Pathy
murali772 - 4 February, 2011 - 16:52
@ Mr Pathy - There's this forum already. What I think of it I have mentioned in the post itself. But, perhaps it suits BMTC's purpose adequately.
Bendre Saarige has problems too
Naveen - 6 February, 2011 - 10:26
Bendre Saarige private operators mostly operate buses between Hubli & Dharwad (inter-city), where passenger volumes are higher. The city /rural routes remain neglected, apart from unionization by the private bus operators & other well known problems, such as bus owners with political connections who corrupt the system (similar to the blue-line in Delhi that has now been completely phased out).
So, 'privatization' or 'competition' in city transport in India is highly problematic. It'll surely bring along newer, bigger problems that might actually be far worse to cope with & cause even more inconvenience to the travelling public than BMTC. Improving management & operations of buses /routes by BMTC as detailed by ss87 & others appears the best option since they are being termed 'mediocre' (& not bad) even by those that are highly biased against BMTC!
See an earlier Hindu article here re. Bendre Sarige. Excerpts:
...the NWKRTC, which has jurisdiction over Dharwad, Belgaum, Karwar, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Gadag, Haveri and Koppal divisions, has hired 560 buses from private owners on lease. Among the owners who have hired their buses to the transport corporation on lease are those who enjoy political connection and are known to some top officials of the corporation who have since retired. And, this group has been able to get favourable terms in the contract. This has been one of the causes for the drain in the finances of the NWKRTC.
Everything was hunky dory till the Managing Director, Paramesh, started scrutinising the affairs with a view to plug the loopholes, which had proved to be a drain on its resources. Then the heat began to be felt and this led to the private bus owners declaring some sort of an open war.
While the Left-affiliated Karnataka Staff and Workers Federation has remained silent, the Karnataka State Road Transport Employees Federation has opposed hiring private buses and demanded that the arrangement be scrapped immediately. It has said that the NWKRTC put deploy its own buses instead for better control of the operations.
Meanwhile, with the Bendre Nagar Sarige running more number of buses on the Hubli-Dharwad route, K.S. Sharma, Working President of the Karnataka State Road Transport Employees Federation, has expressed surprise over the fewer number of buses being run by the transport corporation on the city route.
"We were promised by the Managing Director that more number of buses will be deployed to effectively meet the challenge thrown by the private operators,'' he said.
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