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Yi did not fail - it was dumped
Written By murali772 - 9 April, 2009
Bangalore BMTC Volvo Citizen Reports public transport
@ Naveen (response to this comment)
Yi did not fail - it was dumped. A more charitable reason is that similar to the matter of their updating of the web-site, the people concerned were lax about going through the tendering process. But, the more plausible reason is that the service provider (for whom I was front-ending the discussions with BMTC) did not approach the "concerned people" in the "right way". And, these concerned people were very effective in side-lining it even with its having the MD's backing, possibly because the MD himself was part of some other racket involving the minister.
And, these concerned people were not comfortable dealing with me, knowing me to be a loud-mouth. When I realised this, I had a frank talk with the MD of the service provider company ( a IIT, Kanpur; 7 years in Infosys background person) to allow me to back out, and to find a wheeler-dealer to handle the BMTC business. He did that, and there was immediate response from the concerned people. But, in the meanwhile, a few other things fell out of place for both the wheeler-dealer and BMTC, and Yi was just dumped unceremoniously.
The calls were certainly not free. And, that was never the problem.
For the six-month trial period, BMTC placed an order on us for a total of Rs 85K, plus taxes, to keep within the Rs 1 lakh per annum limit for non-tendered orders. Even though this did not meet even a fraction of the direct costs involved, we took it up in the expectation of more sustainable levels of compensation under the regular business, once BMTC saw the improvements in ridership. Apart from this were the many other spin-offs that were possible. But, even though there was a measurable improvement in ridership, the "other considerations" were more important for the concerned people, and that was it.
The merry loot goes on even today, possibly on an even bigger scale. What else do you think the grand TTMC contracts are all about? To serve the commuter? Forget it! Of course, the recession may have come as dampener, though.
I have dealt with enough government agencies to see through all these games. Whereas when Socialism ruled the country, we had to learn to live with it all, I can't understand the need to tolerate such nonsense today. There's no option - it has to be an all out war!
Muralidhar Rao
COMMENTS
murali772 - 9 April, 2009 - 11:07
@ Naveen
I am not making any more demands of BMTC. I am demanding of the government to bring in proper competition, which I am more and more convinced is the only way out.
Incidentally, there used to be a V340N operating between KBS and HSR layout, which used to pass through Koramangala. The route details can be accessed at http://www.clinf.com/yi/YI_BMTC/Index.html. Now, this was another of those routes with just some four schedules per day, operated with just two buses, even which could be diverted to 'more profitable' routes if any of the buses on those routes broke down. There was never any predictability about it, and given the circumstances, the "Yelli Iddira?" service was extremely helpful.
The following letter which appeared in TOI in mid-Sept, '07, perhaps describes the commuter's plight fairly graphically.
I refer to the news item captioned "A golden chance to travel in style" published in your columns on the 8th instant.
With the increasing congestion on the city roads, the daily commute to and from college, on my scooter, was becoming a regular nightmare. That was when I noticed a VOLVO bus (route no 340N) running along almost the entire stretch of my route. Try as I might, going through the BMTC web-site and even a visit to their main office in Kempegowda bus station, all I could get was some sketchy and non-dependable information. Later, a friend told me about the 'Elli Iddeera' service for tracking the buses through SMS. The information provided on the web-site, apparently set up and maintained by a private agency, was precise as well as most comprehensive, and, within no time, I mastered the art. Commuting thereafter became a pleasure.
Sadly, however, this was short-lived, with the service becoming totally erratic over the past few months. A mail posted on the web-site elicited a response from the service provider that the BMTC was just not co-operating. And, I am now back to my tortuous scooter rides.
So, what is the BMTC now talking about, when they cannot in the first place bother to sustain some of their user-friendly services? One wonders if they are actually interested in improving services to the commuters, or just coming up with gimmickry's periodically to just remain in the news.
There are more such letters from commuters received as feedbacks on the Yi site. I shall pull some of them out from my archives and post here.
Muralidhar Rao
murali772 - 9 April, 2009 - 12:10
Typical of the exchange I, on behalf of the Yi team, had with a commuter through the 'feedback' arrangement (almost exactly two years back). And, this was the service that BMTC dumped most unceremoniously.
Dear Muralidhar
Nice to see your mail. I like your approach in getting to know realities.
Certainly without this SMS services, the situation could have remained bad. I am extremely happy with this service as it saves lot of my time.
I have traveled only on 365 route (Bannerghatta Road to BMTC Stand). Recently I have not faced any problem other than that not all the buses have been provided with GPS.
I have not faced faulty information so far.
Overall it is very good. I have spoken with bus conductors about this. They are also happy. They said there is an increase in the number of commuters due to this as people can time catching these buses. May be you can also talk to them whenever you travel on these buses.
As and when I find some useful suggestions to be given, I will
communicate with you.
Best Regards
Ravi
-----Original Message-----
From: yi@clinf.com [mailto:yi@clinf.com]
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 11:39 AM
To: Ravi, Vaikuntachar
Subject: Yi
Dear Ravi
It has been just over 2 months since we started the Yi service. Over the period, we have been trying to come to grips with some of the teething problems, and we dare say, today, that the service has stabilised, atleast on some routes, if not all. I was going through the old mails to check out the ground reality with the commuters directly, and hence this mail to you.
A typical complaint we have been receiving is about faulty information. This happens because the BMTC authorities divert the vehicles on to other routes for operational reasons, but without informing us. Whereas this may have been happening very frequently earlier, I expect it has
come down now. I would be grateful for your feedback on this matter, as well as others.
Attached is a word document with tabulations of the stops on the 10 routes that the VOLVO services are today operating on, as given to us by BMTC. Being a regular commuter on the route, I expect you know it best, and I'll be grateful if you could identify for us more visible
land-marks along the route (like say Brookefields, instead of Kundalahalli or AECS layout, which incidentally are all the same) so that the info given by us becomes more commuter-friendly.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards, Muralidhar Rao
YI Team
http://yi.clinf.com
Muralidhar Rao
murali772 - 9 April, 2009 - 18:00
The GPS services were being provided by "MobiApps", and "Arya Omnitalk" then. I don't know the position today.
The VOLVO buses were fitted by MobiApps, and they fed us the signals on the direction of BMTC for our providing the Yi service.
Reviving the service will require cracking the nexus within BMTC. And, surely, it is not just for the Yi service alone.
As compared to that, if TATA's/ TVS were operating the bus service, they, along with the city, would perhaps have nominated me for the green nobel :))).
Muralidhar Rao
Rithesh - 10 April, 2009 - 01:14
@bdonline
Answers to your question
1. GPS devices are still active. Around 40 Volvo buses are fitted with GPS devices (all Vayu Vajra Volvos). A few non volvo buses are also fitted with GPS devices (especially the ones hired on contract basis). I am not sure what is their current purpose but my guess is they use that for tracking. I was recently told that in a phased manner all Volvo buses initially will be fitted with GPS devices (however this was not an official communication).
2. BMTC is working with a search engine provider to digitize all their routes, so that it is available to the general public. At a latter stage this thing could be used for providing YI type services.
bdonline - 9 April, 2009 - 15:50
Thanks for the insightful post. The sequence of events that led to YI's demise is quite unfortunate. I'm a recent member so please excuse my ignorance while I ask the following questions:
1. Who maintains GPS hardware that's installed in BMTC buses? Is this hardware still operational, now since YI has been dumped?
2. How optimistic are you about newer parties trying to revive YI or a similar service albeit in a different way?
Thanks,
BD
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