HOT TOPICS
SPOTLIGHT AGENCIES
Petition to CM to end BMTC/KSRTC monopoly
Written By murali772 - 24 April, 2009
Bangalore Congestion BMTC KSRTC suggestion monopoly competition
The bus is now beginning to re-establish its position as the primary mode for public transport. And, of course, the importance of public transport is a now a no-brainer. Given this scenario, government monopolies (BMTC & KSRTC) occupying this critical space is an anomaly that cannot be suffered any longer.
There's no denying that BMTC has improved its services of recent, and is set to do even better with the roping in of the services of professionals like Prof Ashwin Mahesh of IIM, who has come up with innovations like the Big-10 services, etc. But, whatever, a monopoly has its limitations, and a government one has even bigger limitations.
Besides, the task is really huge if the percentage of trips made using public transport has to rise from the present 40 odd to a level of 70 to 80 (like in London, where the near 90% privately-owned bus services record close to 6 million trips/ week-day, compared to the Underground's 3.4 million - check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_for_London for the sustainable growth of the city.
That apart, if innovative ideas like 'Big-10' haven't quite caught on the way they should have, it is largely because of the last-mile connectivity factor. And, 'Shuttle services' for meeting this need are best farmed out to the private sector.
Another area where the private sector could readily come in is the high-end services, where anyway the BMTC is bleeding heavily. Check: bus-services-a-different-approach
Then, there's also the demand from specific sectors like the IT/ ITES industry, schools, etc, which again are best met by private sector operators. Check: http://praja.in/blog/murali772/2008/09/08/bmtcs-business-oriented-outlook#comment-7848
Because of the prevailing 'license-permit raaj', so far, it's been only the Blue-line (of Delhi) kind of operators that have generally been in the picture, in turn earning the private sector a bad name. For that to change, the raaj has to be dismantled and the entry of reputed players like TVS facilitated, all under the oversight of a duly constituted and empowered regulatory body.
The enlightened members of the civil society are more and more exhorting the car/two-wheler users to switch to the use of buses. While doing so, it becomes incumbent on their part to demand of the government to create the right kind of climate for providing of such services as will make these people want to make the switch (Given today's scenario, however, the trend is opposite, and the NANO is going to be aggravating the situation even further). So, would these worthies, as also other like-minded people, then want to sign this petition addressed to the Chief Minister, please?
PS1: (I have, as on 23/06/12, withdrawn the petition, because of a technical hitch in the configuring of it, explained more fully here, for those interested. I'll be starting a new one soon).
PS2: As of today (17/08/12), I have revived the petition. It may be accessed here.
Other connected blogs:
http://praja.in/blog/murali772/2007/12/12/better-bussing-green-bangalore
Bus-services, a different approach
Muralidhar Rao
COMMENTS
murali772 - 16 October, 2011 - 12:02
I had posted a link to the above post on HU y-group, and a certain SR chose to respond as below:
Firstly, Chetan Bhagat?! I am really not sure what his credentials as an expert are to comment on this. Also, it speaks a lot about his knowledge/outlook if he thinks that:
- Honest people and sari-manufacturers/mithai shop-owners are mutually exclusive
- "World-class" (whatever he means by that) corporates and local country liquor barons are also exclusive
- World-class corporates (again, not sure what he means by this, but would like to hear a few examples of these paragons of untainted virtue) being above "devising shady methods".
Also, I am confused by the "Sharma" and BMTC/KSRTC references. Are you talking about inter-city bus transport?
And, I countered as below:
Chetan Bhagat - The New York Times called him the ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’. Time magazine named him in the “100 Most Influential People in the world” and Fast Company, USA listed him as one of the world’s “100 most creative people in business.”
For all that (of course, you can now ask what are the credentials NYT, Time magazine and this Fast Company), if one is to question his credentials, what credentials does anyone on HU have to comment on the subject, or any of the many others, that we have been commenting on at length? So, we all keep quiet, and not give out our opinions? Well, anyway, that's not for me. I have my opinions on very many subjects, and, if not on HU y-group, I will be putting them all out on PRAJA, or on my personal blog.
On the subject of private colleges also, I have put my comments on PRAJA, long before CB commented on the subject, and his is a further elaboration of what I have said.
Now, coming back to bus services, all the private bus operations, whether inter-city or intra-city (maxi-cabs), are licensed as 'contract carriages' (except in Mangalore, Udupi, and a few other districts), with all kinds of unworkable restrictions imposed on them. When I applied for a licence, the same was offered to me too by the Transport Commissioner. When I said that I wanted a regular bus service licence (referred to by them as stage-carriage services), he stated that that sector was the monopoly of BMTC. As I was leaving the office, a slightly junior level official followed me and told me to take the contract carriage licence and operate as a regular bus service, like everybody else is already doing. What he didn't quite say, but obviously meant, was that I will have to bribe my way all along, including firstly to him. Now, this is what a TVS or a TATA won't do, but the sari manufacturers, mithai shop-owners, liquor barons, etc, that CB referred to, as also the Sharma's, I referred to, will generally not have much compunctions about doing. And, when you start off that way, it is only to be expected that the culture all along will be 'cattle class'.
And, it's not just Sharma. Even the likes of VRL descend to that level, when operating in this space, inspite of having the latest of VOLVO buses on their fleet. They are supposed to have a tie-up with "REDBUS", an excellent portal for bus ticketing. But, to avoid paying commissions during the peak Diwali rush, they just dumped REDBUS, and are taking on the bookings directly, but of course, in the old world fashion. I just experienced this while attempting to make some bookings for a relative of mine.
Now, of course, when a Cabinet minister (A Raja) himself starts behaving like the official in the Transport Commissioner's office (that I referred to above), Reliance had apparently floundered, and possibly even TATAs, but TVS's and Infosys's are unlikely to have. What they will do instead is to lobby to change the rules so that they can also get into the game, and play according to the rules. So, the important thing is to ensure that the rules are framed properly, which isn't difficult when there are enough players interested. And, after the recent experiences of their top honchos suffering prolonged jail terms, you can generally expect that they will now play almost totally by the rule book.
Also, once you have a fairly good regulatory mechanism in place, even the Sharma's and VRL's will match up to the regular 'corporates', and give them a run for their money, to the ultimate benefit of the consumer, like we have been seeing the GO-AIR's, Indigo's etc taking on the Jet's and Kingfisher's in the airlines industry, even though the regulatory mechanism there is still to take proper shape.
Well, whatever, no businessman can claim to be lilly white. And, to that extent, your statement "let anyone who has never sinned, cast the first stone" is quite relevant - but, as much for ordinary mortals, including Anna Hazare perhaps.
murali772 - 9 October, 2011 - 04:23
One big reason for corruption in the Education sector is the government’s "no profits allowed" policy for private institutes.
This ensures that none of the legitimate players ever enter the field. Ex-academics, world-class corporates and honest people will never touch private education, for they do not want to pay bribes at every stage and devise shady methods to bypass no-profit rules. Thus, people like local country liquor barons, sari manufacturers and mithai shop owners open technical colleges for engineering and medicine. And we hand over our kids and their future to them.
For the full text of the column by Chetan Bhagat in the ToI, click here.
The problem is more or less the same in public bus transport services sector too. And, that's why you have only the 'Sharma transport' type operators in the field, some of whom all the same are better than our BMTC/ KSRTC. If the playing field is levelled out, firstly with the dismantling of the license-permit raaj imposed through archaic Contract Carriage Act, etc, you'll see the likes of TVS (who were the pioneers in the field) and TATA's coming in, making for a paradigm shift in the way we travel, leading to solutions to many other problems our cities are currently faced with.
murali772 - 14 September, 2012 - 11:32
The strike received a total response in all major districts including Mysore, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Mandya, Gulbarga, Bijapur and other places. On the other hand, the strike had little impact in Mangalore and Hubli, thanks to strong network of private bus service here.
For the full report in the ToI, click here.
Isn't the answer staring in one's face? Demand end to the monopoly - sign this petition.
Read here besides about how BMTC/ KSRTC perpetuate inequities and artificialities.
murali772 - 8 July, 2011 - 06:00
Alarmed over an increase in the number of accidents involving maxi-cabs, the government is considering a blanket ban on the operation of such vehicles all over the state. Expressing concern over a recent accident involving a maxi-cab which killed 18 persons in Tumkur, transport and home minister R Ashoka on Wednesday said maxi cabs have been banned in the district. “Two officials of the transport department have been suspended. The government may also ban maxi-cabs in all districts of the state,” he said. The department seized over 25 maxi-cabs in Mandya district recently where, he added, more KSRTC buses will ply as an alternative.
For the full report in the ToI, click here
The problem in the first place is the nomenclture as "maxi-cab", and the accompanying license-permit raaj. Whenever such incidents happen, the neta-baabu combo come up with the same excuses and the same remedies, and forget about it all a few days later. Till such times as the raaj is dismantled, more or less on the lines detailed here, there is no salvation, particularly for our rural brethren. When will we all wake up to this reality?
PRAJA.IN COMMENT GUIDELINES
Posting Guidelines apply for comments as well. No foul language, hate mongering or personal attacks. If criticizing third person or an authority, you must be fact based, as constructive as possible, and use gentle words. Avoid going off-topic no matter how nice your comment is. Moderators reserve the right to either edit or simply delete comments that don't meet these guidelines. If you are nice enough to realize you violated the guidelines, please save Moderators some time by editing and fixing yourself. Thanks!