Once a jewel in BMTC's crown, Vajra buses now struggle to draw passengers

The BMTC’s premium bus service Vajra is still struggling to get back to pre-Covid levels three years after the pandemic badly disrupted its ridership.

Bengaluru’s largest public transport provider now runs less than half the Vajra services it offered before Covid. And two fare reductions in less than two years haven’t really helped bring passengers back.

Of the 800 Volvo buses in its fleet, the BMTC deployed over 600 on Vajra (non-airport routes) and over 100 on Vayu Vajra (airport routes) before the pandemic. While Vayu Vajra has more than reclaimed its ridership due to the high number of airport passengers, the same isn’t true of Vajra.

Most Vajra air-conditioned buses run on tech corridors, catering to thousands of professionals working in the city’s numerous IT companies.

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Before Covid, 600-odd Vajra buses contributed over Rs 50 lakh to the BMTC’s daily revenue of nearly Rs 4 crore. More than three years later, the BMTC now runs just 300 Vajra buses a day. Vajra’s share is just Rs 28 lakh to the BMTC’s daily revenue, which now stands at Rs 4.6 crore.

In kilometre terms, Vajra buses now clock just half of the pre-Covid daily average.

Why hasn’t Vajra bounced back?

A senior BMTC official gave several reasons, including the continued work-from-home option for techies, for the poor demand. “We haven’t been able to use all Volvo buses in our fleet. Many of our passengers now work from home,” said the official who asked not to be named.

According to the official, the pre- and post-Covid scenarios are “totally different” in terms of Vajra ridership. “It’s like comparing apples and oranges.”

To attract passengers, the BMTC reduced fares by about 40% and rationalised Vajra routes but still didn’t get the results, the official said.

“It’s an ongoing process. We have almost reached break-even on some routes but lag behind on many others,” he noted.

The Whitefield metro line presents a new challenge for Vajra buses although the official said its impact had so far been “minimal”.

Yogeesh Prabhuswamy, who takes the V 500 CA Vajra bus to travel from Banashankari to Bellandur and back every day, said the BMTC should do more to attract passengers.

He said Covid had intensified car-centric mobility and prompted companies to go for corporate partnerships with ride-hailing firms such as Uber that gave employees flexibility and convenience. For its part, the BMTC missed an opportunity by not aggressively marketing the fare reduction, he stated.

“The absence of real-time bus tracking was another deal-breaker,” he stated. “I’m not sure if the BMTC understands the traffic pattern either.”

A conductor posted on a Kadugodi-bound Vajra bus that was nearly empty agreed that the fare reduction wasn’t well advertised. “Many passengers go away seeing our white uniforms,” he said. “They still think Vajra fares are high.”

Vajra in numbers

* No of daily schedules: 301 (607)
* Kilometres per day: 56,876 (1,07,109)
* Daily revenue: Rs 28.57 lakh (Rs 50.37 lakh)
* Cost per kilometre: Rs 90-100
* Earnings per kilometre: Rs 50.81 (Rs 51.95)

(Figures in brackets denote the daily average over a six-month period before Covid.)

Vayu Vajra & Bengaluru Sarige

* A Vayu Vajra (airport) bus earns Rs 72.33 per kilometre and a Bengaluru Sarige (ordinary) bus earns Rs 140.59.

Impact of Whitefield metro

The 13.71-km Whitefield-KR Puram metro line, which opened on March 26, has begun to impact the Vajra bus service but only just. "There has been a slight impact on some stretches," a BMTC official said.

Things could get difficult for Vajra when the full 15.8-km Whitefield-Baiyappanahalli metro line opens later this year.

Prominent Vajra routes

* V 335E (Majestic-Kadugodi)
* V 360B (Majestic-Attibele)
* V 500CA (Banashankari-ITPL)
* V 500D (Silk Board Jn-Hebbal)
* V 500A (Banashankari-Hebbal)
* V 226WF (Whitefield-Wonderla)
* V-500KE (Kengeri Housing Board-ITPL)
* V-226HSR (HSR BDA Complex-Wonderla)
* V-226ELC (Electronics City-Wonderla)
* V-378 (Kengeri-Electronics City)
* V-365Y (Yeshwantpur-BNP)
* V-356M (Majestic-Anekal)
* V-378 (Kengeri-Electronics City)