JOIN USBMTC loses 2.5 lakh commuters to Metro, but revenue goes up
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has lost 2.5 lakh commuters in the last one month (since June 18), after Namma Metro's south stretch was thrown open for commercial operations.
Sources in BMTC said that the dip in ridership was especially visible in the south stretch as many commuters have migrated to Metro. The number of daily commuters has come down to 49 lakh from about 52 lakh.
However, BMTC has not suffered any loss from this as the average daily revenue has increased from Rs 3.64 crore to Rs 4.08 crore in the said period.
This was mainly due to the revision of fares. The corporation reduced the fare for the first stage but increased the rates for subsequent stages. The fare of air-conditioned buses, too, was revised.
The corporation had 6,775 buses in 2014, of which 6,458 buses made 82,898 daily trips. The number of buses came down to 6,500 last year which further reduced to 6,190 after old buses were sent to the junkyard.
The BMTC is buying 1,650 new buses this year with 10 news buses joining the fleet, every day. But the increase in size is not boosting its ridership.
‘Will conduct a survey’
"We look at the migration to Metro as a fad. People will come back to buses after the initial excitement wears off. We are also rationalising the routes to increase efficiency," a senior BMTC official said.
The official said data on Namma Metro's effect on BMTC was yet to ge gathered. "We are planning to conduct a survey in this regard," he informed.