With 1,500 BMTC buses taken away for election duty, commuters in the city had to rely on a combination of Namma Metro and autorickshaws or cabs to move around.
While those residing in the heart of the city were not inconvenienced by the lower frequency of buses, those commuting from areas in the city margins were the ones who had to wait hard, considering the limited coverage of the metro services.
Metro staffers said terminal stations, especially Byappanahalli and Mysore Road, saw a higher number of passengers. The Kempegowda metro station in Majestic saw a higher footfall, with more than 20,000 exiting the station by 5 pm, compared with the average number of 14,000.
Officials in the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited said the higher number was also due to the long weekend. “Weekends see a rush of commuters regardless of the BMTC bus frequency. People who are going out of town prefer the metro over buses to reach the satellite bus stations or railway stations,” an official said.
The BMRCL also increased the frequency on the Purple Line, with a train every three minutes, while the Green Line had a train every nine minutes.
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