JOIN US13,000 buses to operate in City within 10 years
Home and Transport Minister R Ashoka said on Friday that 13,000 BMTC buses will be operating in Bangalore city within the next decade.
Ashoka was speaking after laying the foundation for a new bus station in Yelahanka old town, and for bus depots in Sadenahalli and Nagadevanahalli. “Our aim is to bring the best buses from different parts of the world to Bangalore and thereby making public transport popular,” he said. “Currently, the number of buses plying in Bangalore is around 6,500. The number will touch 13,000 in the next 10 years.”
Ashoka said a bus depot had been constructed at Sadenahalli and Nagadevanahalli at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. In Hassan, a driver-training facility for the KSRTC has been built on three acres land and soon more drivers will be joining the service, he added.
Detailing the eco-friendly measures of the Transport department, Ashoka said soon 1,500 buses in the State will be running on ethanol and biofuel and revealed that a letter in this regard has already been written to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and the Finance Department.
Ashoka further said that a state-of-the-art bus terminal is coming up in Mysore, at the cost of Rs 21 crore. This terminal will provide real-time information on bus services, just like in airports.
Under this Intelligent Transport Solution (ITS), passengers will be able to view updated of buses scedules as they wait at bus stops. The ITS is expected to start before the end of 2012. The Transport department expects that the system to reduce overcrowding on buses, which is a common problem in BMTC buses at the present time.