BMTC will carry 50% of ORR load: Shikha

BMTC managing director C Shikha sought to dispel the notion that the corporation has got a “sweet deal” with priority bus lanes, saying that it has taken up the task of carrying half the commuter load on outer ring road (ORR) by limiting itself to 20% of the road space. “We are carrying 15,000 passengers in an hour on ORR, which is half of the total number of commuters on the road. We are limiting our buses to one lane and leaving four other lanes to private vehicles,” she said.

Shikha was responding to a request by the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) that priority lanes should be thrown open to private buses, at an interaction on the city’s mobility problems organised by the Bangalore Political Action Committee and Uber.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) came under focus with experts and citizen groups alike demanding that the government take an active role in funding and boosting the corporation instead of investing in capital incentive flyovers.

“Congestion and pollution are part of the same problem and it is high time the officials started seeing it that way. The government has failed to understand the power of the BMTC, which will have a greater role to play in the coming days. The corporation should get suggestions from ward committees which have a better understanding of the transport requirement at micro level,” Srinivas Alavilli of the Citizens for Bengaluru said.

Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising said the BMTC was more reliable than Uber in Whitefield and surrounding areas, but urged the corporation to introduce more buses. However, she rued the lack of consistency in the corporation’s services.

“Two buses announced days before Parliament elections were withdrawn in the next few days,” she said.