1,243 two-wheelers hit B’luru roads every day

The number of two-wheelers in Bengaluru has gone up from 38 lakh in 2015 to 55.9 lakh this year, as more number of people are taking to the “affordable and reliable” transport compared with public transport.

Official statistics from the Transport Department released on Saturday show that 1,243 two-wheelers have been registered in the city every day in the last one year, taking pollution and congestion to higher levels.

Two-wheeler riders are also the most vulnerable commuters and account for one-third of all the accidents in the city. Last year, the KSRTC began a special programme to train its drivers to avoid hitting two-wheelers with officials stating that most of the 300 serious accidents involve two-wheelers.

Shaheen Shasa of Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike, which has been fighting for affordable public transport, said people were taking to two-wheelers as they were more convenient in reaching last mile and reliable.

“There is also the argument that they are affordable. These issues should be studied and the government should intervene at the earliest to make the BMTC affordable and reliable,” she said.

Officials in the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) had said last year that the daily ridership of its buses has come down from 51 lakh in 2015-16 to 45 lakh in 2017-18. As diesel prices went up last year, the corporation has proposed a 14% hike in the fares.

Asked whether the fare will further hit the ridership, an official said it was left to the government.

“We have given a proposal to the government. It’s a sensitive matter on which we cannot comment,” the official said.

Lack of connectivity

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited is yet to reach the target 5 lakh daily ridership as the metro stations remain disconnected due to lack of last-mile connectivity. The BMTC, which had introduced about 100 feeder services, has reduced it to a handful due to financial woes after the cumulative losses hit Rs 650 crore.

Shaheen, however, noted that expecting transport corporations to make a profit
was not the answer to the problem.

“There is no better way to attract people from private vehicles to public transport other than incentivising the latter,” she said.