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BMTC Suvarna peak hour service
Written By s_yajaman - 9 April, 2008
saw this report on BMTC's long planned peak hour service.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/01/stories/2008040159230300.htm
It was disappointing to see a good idea being executed badly. (Murali sir was not at all surprised!). If you see the routes almost all of them touch - Kempegowda Bus Stand. I thought that place was crowded as it is without another set of buses attempting to enter them. Have any of you (except Vasanth) been to Subhashnagar bus stand? There is log jam inside the bus stand and buses that are ready to go cannot leave because they are surrounded by other buses.
No direct routes from say Koramangala to ITPL or Jayanagar to E-City or from Vijayanagar to Bannerghatta Road or from Srinagar to Peenya? You want connectivity in the morning which will take you from home to your workspot fairly quickly. This does not serve the purpose.
I would have designed things a bit differently. Let's say I have a bus from Jayanagar 5th block to ITPL. I would have it go from Jayanagar 5th block to 4th block to T-block to 9th block and then BTM Layout. From there non-stop on ORR till Brooke Fields and then again stops inside EPIP,etc. Fixed fare from any place to any place - say Rs.10 to avoid change problems.
I am inclined to agree more and more with Murali sir.
Srivathsa
COMMENTS
bangalorean - 9 April, 2008 - 11:05
Vasanth - 9 April, 2008 - 11:49
Grid route as against to Hub Spoke Model is what we need to cater all round the city with a definite and good frequency with the concept of 'Transfers'. Now normal BMTC bus fare is too high and changing the buses will make it even more expensive - compare it to a 4 stroke 100cc commuter bike like the splendor/ct100, bus commute is very expensive as well as time consuming. How people will come to buses?
I saw the Suvarna Bus and nothing was found special. Entire bus was made of steel - that's all. It is not having Low Floor Rear Engine like the Volvo. Also, the routes are nothing special, same routes, new buses. Very bad planning. A special pass is also needed to board this bus - another misconcept.
Our Town Planning as well as Transit Planning do not go together. Most of the international cities goes for a CBD concept with enforcement of Public Transport to travel to CBD. Since the businesses here in Bangalore is spread across all over, it becomes trickier to plan a good transit too. Vaguely, IT companies were started at remote corners ITPL and EC. Now, employees living in proper Bangalore have to spend nearly 4 hrs for their commute.
silkboard - 9 April, 2008 - 12:18
Let us list down all arguments against Hub and spoke model. And then compare them with Grid/matrix approach.
1) Lack of faith in BMTC to manage the crowded hubs well. Two points here. a) can BMTC provide enough amenities inside the Hubs to draw upper/middle class commuters? b) can BMTC manage traffic around the Hub (lots of buses fighting with lots of cars and bikes)
2) Wait time enforced on passenger at the Hubs. Hub to Hub frequencies may be lot higher than Hub to a satellite frequency. So your wait time could depend on how the schedule is synchronized
3) Longer trip route. sometimes to go to point A, you may have to go father to a nearby Hub, and then come back to point A
4) Private transport till the Hub A) Autos: Will the compete or complement the buses running from Hub to satellites? B) Parking: will BMTC be able to provide ample parking at the Hubs so that I can drive up to the hub myself?
Add more negatives to this, once we think we have them all, let us see how they get addressed in the Grid/Matrix model.
namma_nadu - 9 April, 2008 - 11:13
Ever wondered why its so difficult to use BMTC. Simply because they are not aligned to the work places. Years ago - Bangalore was defined by 3 Centres/hot spots - Majestic, Market (KR) and Shivajinagar. The shantinagar bus stand is such a joke - because it serves no purpose - except for being a money spinner for BMTC - thanks to Big Bazar. For people working in CBD and staying in BTM (like me) - we dont have a choice but to use a personal vehicle. There is no bus save 201 (which is badly run) which takes me to my office location. Alternate is to go to Jayanagar 4th block - take a bus to shivajinagar and finally an auto to my office. Crazy aint it? No wonder the personal vehicle commuting is the chosen mode of transport.
Even for the international airport - there is no service from BTM - The nearest route is "2" from JP nagar 6th phase. Hopefully an EC bus will ply thru BTM.
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