Bengaluru Metro to operate from 7 am to 8 pm on all days; BMTC buses to ply until 9 pm

Starting Monday, metro trains will run until 8 am while BMTC buses will be available until 9 pm. In addition, metro trains will run on weekends, too.

Starting July 5, train services will be available from 7 am to 8 pm on all days, the BMRCL said on Sunday. The timings were extended after the state government announced Unlock 3.0 in view of declining Covid numbers.

Trains will run at a frequency of 5 to 15 minutes during peak and non-peak hours between Monday and Friday. The frequency on Saturdays, Sundays and general holidays will depend on the demand, the BMRCL said.

This is the third time that metro train timings have been revised in tune with the relaxations. When the services resumed on June 21 after nearly two months, trains ran only for seven hours in two shifts a day. On July 1, the trains started running from 7 am to 6 pm.

Also read: Recoveries, vaccinations driving down Bengaluru’s Covid cases: Experts

There was no service on weekends in view of the curfew. Now that the government has lifted the weekend curfew, metro trains will on Saturdays and Sundays, too.

In the past few days, Bengalureans took to social media to demand metro operations until 9 pm. Many said it was impossible for them to catch the last train at 6 pm after work.

The BMTC on Sunday said it would run 4,500 buses in the city and suburbs daily, and promised to increase the operations if the demand warrants it.

Further, buses will now run at full capacity, in a marked departure from the earlier guidelines which had capped the ridership at 50%.