JOIN USUnruly BMTC buses a bane of commuters on Tumakuru Road
Several parts of Tumakuru Road, one of the main entry points to Bengaluru, are turning into a commuters' nightmare as BMTC buses don't halt at the designated stops there.
Take the stretch between Yeshwantpur and Peenya, for example. The BMTC runs thousands of buses on this route every day, serving lakhs of commuters.
The BMTC buses are, however, endangering commuters' lives by halting on the main road, instead of the designated bus stop at Govardhan Theatre. They pick up or drop off passengers at the divider that separates the main road from the service road. In contrast, KSRTC buses stop only at the designated bus stand.
With multiple buses halting on the busy road every five minutes cause unnecessary congestion, the lack of markings and safe accessibility makes commuters and pedestrians vulnerable.
At any given point in time, at least 5-6 people are seen standing on the small road divider waiting for the BMTC buses. Most of them just jaywalk to the spot. With BMTC, KSRTC and private buses hurtling on both the roads, pedestrians are always at the risk of being run over.
Anil Kumar, a daily commuter, notes that the problem is worse at Goraguntepalya and Peenya. "The peak-hour scene at Goraguntepalya and Peenya is horrendous. You could see hundreds of people waiting for buses, disregarding social-distancing rules," he said.
The crowds sometimes cover half of the service road. "I'm sure many government officials travel on this road every day but nobody has cared to find a solution to this problem," Kumar said.
The situation is similar on the stretch between Nagasandra and Yeshwantpur. There are just no bus stops at Nagasandra and Dasarahalli. Many buses drop off passengers ahead of the ramp of the flyover that connects traffic to the Yeshwantpur TTMC.
When contacted by Deccan Herald, BMTC officials have promised that Sarathi (vigilance) officers had been informed of the situation and they would make sure that the buses halt at the designated stops.