Bus Day idea is good.  But when the buses are not available what is the use.

Even in important routes bus frequency is either less or not available.

BMTC has to do away with routes which are having frequencies of twice or thrice or four times a day or once in 1 hour or 2 hours.

BMTC has to abort the plans of re-routing to increase the revenue which inturn increases the travel time.

Much publicised Volvo buses in some routes are totally useless (for example no one knows when exactly route no. 195 arrives and departs from KBS.  Even BMTC staff themselves inform the passengers that only one bus runs in this route and it is better to use alternate buses which in turn start from other platform)

Same thing can be said about 500K, 500KB, 600K (These are available from VJN only in the morning excluding on Saturday and Sunday.  During other time and other days, no one knows when exactly these buses are operated.  Reverse direction operation is much worse)

Frequency is much misunderstood for reliability. If I know a schedule and the bus keeps up that schedule with a small margin of delay then I can plan my travel accordingly. In the absence of this reliability I look for a surplus of buses arriving randomly so I can expect to catch one within a few minutes of arriving there unplanned.

Worldwide, trunk routes are more frequent as they expect the feeders to arrive at different times, while the feeders are scheduled. Even if it is once every hour it should be there in + or - 5 mins and the time table should published. Feeders have lesser chances of missing the schedule as they cover less ares and hence face less jams.

If the network was clean with trunk & feeders clearly identified, the strategies & communication can be reasonably adjusted. Now with services all over the place criss crossing everywhere and also not having a time table, it is reasonable for people to ask for frequency everywhere. If BMTC obliges they will introduce massive inefficiencies and since they dont have timetable & cant keep up to it even if it existed, they suck at the service.

I go to a bus stop today completely blind sided as to when I may or may not get a bus and to which location. It will only be by practice that one understands the service. So the casual traveler is put off and hence chances of converting him to a frequent traveller is lost.

Exactly my points.

I had written to BMTC for a few new routes/route changes. And so far, I would say that BMTC has been responsive to a great extend.

I asked for a volvo introduced from KRPuram (Old Madras Road) to ITPL through Hoodi. They introduced a 319C marcopolo.

I asked for a bus which connects the whitefield road and the Sap Signal through a road which was in usable condition, but did not have BMTC buses running so far. Thay took care of that by the routing of 504E&F. On one end, these routes were introduced to take care of the Suranjandas road area, But on the other end, it connects two stretches which were not connected by BMTC earlier.

Both these buses could be great boons which would have increased the comfort of my travel. But for the frequency. 319C runs at a frequency of 30 min during peak hours, and 504E&F at a frequency of 1hr (I guess). The variance in the time of arrival is abt 30-45 minutes! Which renders it useless for me.

So, I wrote to BMTC again. This is what I wrote

Hi,

Thanks for introducing the 319C marcopolo on the old madras road, till ITPL.

I have been using this bus from ESI stop to KRPuram for some time now. 

1) This is my observation of the schedule. In the evenings, i used to get the bus towards krpuram at around 5.50 at the ESI stop. The conductor says it starts form ITPL at 5.30 and reaches ESI b/w 5.40 to 5.50 depending on the traffic. But, last few days , the 5.50 bus didnt come till abt 6.10. After that, I quit waiting, and took an ordinary bus to KRPURAM. I guess when the bus runs infrequently, it is important to run it on schedule. 

2) In the morning, the first 319C  reaches ITPL around 9.20. I guess it is too late for most IT companies here, which start operations at 8.00AM. In fact, the TCS, tata elxsi, ABB, etc on this road has strict start timing of 8.00AM. so, unless the first bus reaches there around that time, it is not quite useful!

3) It would be great if you can post a printout inside the bus, showing approximate times at diff stops.. It can be very approximate, and even if the bus is delayed by 15 minutes, it is ok. But, it will allow people to plan their day!!

I have always got good response from the BMTC customer care. I hope that it will continue. Hoping that you would look into my suggestions.

Thanks a lot,

Anitha

And here is the reply I got.

Dear Madam,

Wonder if my mail was a little too lengthy to read.

Have anybody come across this notice?

I tried switching on the bluetooth on my phone, and didnt receive any message.. Wondering if they use it only on bus days, or if the signal is strong only in some parts of the bus!

Though I was tempted to say "made me more aware, that's it", I did get new routes in my area, 314AA which I used a few times for my commute, and two shuttles in whitefield (WFS, WFS-2). 3 new routes that I do use. So there goes my vote.