BMTC removes ad stickers from buses; riders relieved

Riders of BMTC buses, especially those standing in the aisle, can now get a glimpse of the scene outside as officials remove advertisements above the windows.

In fact, they have removed stickers on the lower glass (above the window) from 4,000 buses.

"The contract for 4,000 buses ended on June 30 and most of the vehicles have now lost the stickers. The agreement on back-panel advertisements on another 1,000 buses will take some more time," BMTC managing director V Ponnuraj said.

The corporation decided against advertisements on lower glasses after media reports highlighted complaints by passengers standing in crowded buses that they had a harder time recognising their location.

"When I first moved to the city about two years ago, I had to struggle to know where the bus was going. It took six months, during which I took an autorickshaw, to be familiar with the route or the places on the way. It is a huge relief to know that the stickers will go," said Prasanna Kumar, a regular commuter between Kumaraswamy Layout and Shivajinagar.

Revenue

The BMTC earned Rs 1 crore per month for sporting the advertisements on 5,000 buses. The corporation is about to finalise a new tender for advertisements on 4,000 buses to ensure that there is no loss in the revenue.

"The new tender limits the advertisements only to the back panels. However, since the cost has gone up, there is no loss in revenue. In fact, we will get slightly more than Rs 1 crore per month," the official said.

Returning to white-blue

The BMTC has also decided to return to the classic white and blue look by changing the colour for its buses, except for the new buses in orange and the AC buses that sport blue.

In a board meeting last month, some of the members expressed that the multiple colours, including red and green, have led to confusion and makes the government buses look similar to private ones.

"Buses undergo a fitness certificate test once a year. The colour will be changed when the bus comes for the test," the official said.