Public transport, pvt players

The aggregator services launched on IT corridors have issues with permits. But, the BMTC is already jittery over their plans.

Licensed as contract carriages, the maxi-cabs are all over the place. But look beyond the school vans, the company vehicles, and what you see: Entire fleets of such vehicles, “illegal” written in big, bold, capital letters, but running nevertheless!

Into this complex web of fringe operators enters a new maxi-cab player with an aggregator model perfected by the likes of Ola and Uber. Obviously tech-savvy, the new entrant merges mobile Apps with GPS to promise commuters accessibility rivaling BMTC buses with AC comfort.

Plainly put, the aggregator ZipGo connects commuters to a network of vehicles whose location, speed, schedule and low price is known in advance. The system, currently launched on select routes in the IT corridors, could potentially change the way Bengalureans commute long distances. But this, precisely, is what makes BMTC jittery. Following suit, the transport department has begun a crackdown, confiscating many such vehicles on charges of running without valid permits.

Permit issues
At the heart of the conflict is this: The government agencies say the vehicles attached to ZipGo under the aggregator model have only “contract carriage” permits. They have no right to operate as “stage carriage” vehicles, something which only the BMTC is authorized to do.    

ZipGo charges commuters a fixed rate of Rs. 29 per trip. Once its operations get beyond the current routes that include Koramangala, Indiranagar, BTM Layout, Electronics City and ITPL Whitefield, BMTC could feel the pinch in its revenues. But can the debate go beyond revenues and profits?

The aggregator claims its mission is traffic decongestion and affordable mass transportation. Yet, as urban mobility experts repeatedly emphasise, the real goal is ensuring last-mile connectivity and integration of multiple public transportation modes. This alone can potentially dent the rush for private vehicles.

Their sheer size prevents the BMTC AC buses from reaching several city locations, accessible only through narrow, congested and often encroached roads. The alternative could be smaller shuttle buses fitted with GPS, and smartly integrated to commuters’ mobile devices. But tech-tweaking of the BMTC fleet network, a project that could effectively counter private players such as ZipGo, is still a long-delayed project.

Questions remain
Not everyone is convinced by the prospect of private players taking the place of BMTC buses. “I have concerns about their ability to cater to the commute requirements of all strata of society. The fixed rate of Rs. 29 is steep for those who depend on BMTC for small distances, paying Rs. 5 to Rs. 10,” reasons Sathyanarayan Sankaran, member, Team Sanjaynagar Collective.

Lack of door-to-door connectivity is one reason why many private vehicle owners refrain from taking BMTC buses. But does ZipGo ensure that connectivity? Sankaran is not sure. Besides, without an independent regulator such as the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) or TRAI, there is no way to monitor the service issues that could crop up, he points out.

The question of profitability does arise when routes chosen by BMTC and the private operators converge. Sankaran wonders whether the private players would operate on unprofitable routes besides the IT corridors. As a government agency with public service responsibility, BMTC is rule-bound to run buses on all routes regardless of profitability concerns.

Profitability concerns
Ultimately, the fear is this: Since the government does not subsidise BMTC to compensate for its losses in unprofitable routes, the transport corporation would prioritise on profitable routes. This way, unprofitable routes will remain unprofitable. Masses will suffer.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the ZipGo experiment, the aggregator has made the first move. Indeed, it is caught up in permit issues. But as Ola and Uber did, ZipGo could be here for the long haul. Besides, as another urban transport expert points out, the shift of the hitherto unorganised maxi-cabs into a structured, organised sector could eventually boost accountability of the operating staff. 

Aggregator carpooling
Traffic decongestion, in effect, implies less personal vehicles, particularly cars and SUVs, out of the roads. For years, car-pooling has been thought of as a viable option. Single passengers of four to five cars could effectively be pooled into one car, provided everyone inside has worked out a deal on route, timing and cost-sharing.

But despite the concept’s benefits on paper, sporadic efforts to take it off the ground have only had limited success. The entry of big players such as UberPOOL, with better structure and planning, might just get car-pooling experiment work. If this happens, the State transport operators could get jittery again!

Here’s why: Cars are even more accessible than maxi-cabs. UberPOOL, having already launched its service in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Austin and Paris, claims commuters could save up to 50 per cent on costs. Incidentally, Bengaluru is the first Indian city chosen by UberPOOL for its car-pooling launch.

For those used to app-based taxi aggregators, sharing a taxi just might get attractive. Hooked to the Ola and Uber cabs, several commuters feel themselves trapped in peak-hour surge-pricing. The rates spike to up to 300 per cent, a definite reason for many to give taxis the go-by.

But if the same experience is offered under a car-pooling model at a much more affordable price, commuters could login. However, there is a catch: Wary of sharing a car with strangers, women commuters could drop out over safety issues. In any case, the car-pool competition has just begun, and no one is sure what’s in store  tomorrow!