Bus stops needed at Nayandahalli or Deepanjalinagar

Namma Metro from Kengeri to Bayyappanahalli is a boon for Bangalore West residents and travellers coming in from Mysore in buses. The passengers can get to the heart of the city with the metro coming up on Mysore road and turning towards Vijayanagar, Magadi road, Majestic and beyond.

A permanent bus stop at Nayandahalli is expected to enable passengers to take Namma Metro from Nayandahalli itself to the city centre and even to far off places such as Whitefield and Marathahalli, the information technology hubs.

A permanent bus stop at Nayandahalli would make the bus stand and the metro station an important hub. Now, there is a request stop, which means passengers have to signal the bus driver.

A permanent stop will help passengers be sure of a stop and an access to the Metro. But in case the design of the Metro station and a second fly-over being built on Mysore road alongside the Metro rail line does not allow for a bus bay, the option for travellers would be to get down close to the Mysore Road-Vijayanagar Junction after the BHEL campus and ahead of Gali Anjaneya temple on Mysore Road, and take the Metro from there to the city centre.

When KSRTC  was asked whether they would set up a stop on Mysore road close to Vijayanagar entrance, a spokersperson replied in the affirmative.

“There is currently the request stop facility. Passengers can request the bus driver a bit in advance to stop. To make a permanent bus stop would require KSRTC to look at volumes of people using the facility. We will see how the metro fares after its launch on the Mysore-road-Vijayanagar line and then take a decision,” the spokesperson explains.

Passengers who get down at the Mysore road satellite bus station would find this facility very useful (in case there is no permanent bus stand at Nayandahalli) as they need not get down at the satellite station.

They can get on the metro immediately after getting down at the previous stop where the metro turns towards Vijayanagar and beyond. Shanmugam Pillai who works in the construction industry and travels often between Bangalore and Mysore says there is demand for a regular bus stop at the Mysore rod junction.

“A permanent bus stop at the junction of Mysore road and Vijayanagar is welcome. Now, I get down at the satellite station and I have to higgle-haggle with the auto drivers to get to my house. I can avoid the trip to the station if I get down where Namma Metro takes the turn after Mysore road towards Vijayanagar.”

Same is the case with Aditya Kumar, a graduate student. He travels to Mysore on business that his father runs there.

“Once you reach Bangalore from Mysore, you are put off by the massive traffic at the BHEL Junction. We are forced to go to the Satellite station because there are no direct buses to my houses from the Mysore road-Vijayanagar junction. If I can get down here, when the metro starts, I can get to the city fast and in good comfort. I hope this will happen soon.”

Pillai and Kumar say that if the bus stop is not set up there even after the metro comes, then there would be the additional problem of having to find an auto/bus from the satellite station to the Metro. Autos may not come if the distance is too short.

The KSRTC spokesperson said mini buses could ply till the Mysore road junction depending on the number of people: “If very few travel between the satellite station and the junction, it would not be economical. A study of the travel patterns is required.”

Getting on to the metro at the junction is an advantage even for those living in Jayanagar and near-by areas as well as those residing at Indiranagar, HAL, K R Puram and Whitefield. The time, energy and cost saved in travel by metro to these areas is far more than in travel by by auto, bus and private vehicles.