Too many there, too few here

Bangalore has the problem of an uneven number of bus stops with some areas having many and others having few.

Even the location of the bus stops is uneven with many bus-stops placed away from where the buses stop and other bus stops appropriately placed where people board.

In West Bangalore, Vijayanagar is an important residential locality, adjacent to Rajajinagar.

There are nearly six bus stops at what was always known as Hosahalli main bus stand.

But these bus stops exist even after the opening of a bigger bus stand just a km away - the Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) which is a very spacious transit for buses to move on to the next stop and a very big parking station too.

Says Ramesh V, a PU II student: “We have too many bus stops at the old main bus stand. All buses that come there stop only at the first stop and before four or five people try to board the bus, the drivers speed away.The first impression anyone gets about the high number of bus stops is that there are enough buses to travel allround, but that’s not the case. Infact we feel there are more bus stops and buses.”

Rajeshwari P, I PU student who travels to Rajajinagar every day, also has a similar problem.

“The bus stops are placed one after the other without specifically indicating which bus goes where. Coming everyday, I may know. But when outsiders to the area come in, they are clueless with no info on where different buses head.”

At the entrance of Vijayanagar is tollgate - which is in desperate need of relocation of bus stop.

There is an old stand just before a signal, while people who want to board the bus stand many metres after the signal.

There is a mismatch between the bus stop and the point of boarding. People are seen all over the place because of the mismatch.

One bus stop from Vijayanagar could be relocated to tollgate.

Then there is the expectation of digital boards displaying relevant info, a promise made as far back as four to five areas by the BMTC.

While the buses themselves have been fixed with digital boards, which indicate the bus number, route and destinations, the bus stops don’t have that.

Students are aware that the boards haven’t come up.

But what they say is entirely different from expectations of an info board: “We will be very happy if the buses come on time.That is certainly better than a board showing the time at which the bus will come and the buses not coming. Also if the boards look good, there is no guarantee about their safety. Unruly elements will take them out to resell and make money,” says Rashmi P,another student who travels to Basweshwarnagar.

It was during former chief minister S M Krishna’s time that Singapore was thought of as a model for Bangalore and each and every facet of Bangalore’s urban life was to be reformed.

One element of the proposed reform was bus stops.

A plan was conceived to model bus stops in Bangalore on the lines of Singapore, which has bus stops with digital boards that display info not only about destinations, but the precise time at which buses will come to a bus stop.

There is also info on the time the buses will take to reach particular bus stops, all of which makes bus travel in Singapore relaxed.

The promise of new bus stops was discussed has been implemented.

The bus stops convey a relaxed feel, are modern in looks and sturdy, very different from the days when there were shelters on a wall, which was the only place one could sit on.

But the bus stops as holistic information centres hasn’t taken off yet.