After taxis, BMTC feels heat from aggregator buses

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which is already facing stiff competition from taxis and autos, now has to contend with shuttle bus services being run by aggregators on BMTC’s routes.

 However, not taking it lying down this time, the BMTC is seeking the government’s intervention to stop these services, which BMTC says are illegally plying on its routes.
According to BMTC officials, theirs is the only authorised service to operate up to 25 kilometre outside city limits and all others operating on these routes are illegal and against the rules. Besides, the aggregators are operating without valid permits.

The recently introduced shuttle bus services are in addition to the existing illegal operations by several taxi operators and aggregators without obtaining valid licences and registering themselves with the department. A majority of these aggregators are operating on State carriage buses in the city limits, violating the orders of the High Court.
 Although the Transport department - during its recent enforcement drives - seized about a dozen of these shuttle vehicles for plying without valid permit, BMTC decided to take matters into its own hands.

Concerned over the growing number and popularity of the shuttle services, BMTC Managing Director Ekroop Caur recently wrote a letter to the Transport minister, seeking intervention in this regard.

While BMTC officials have so far not calculated the loss they are incurring on a daily basis on account of these illegal operations, as per an estimate, overall illegal operations of tempo travellers, taxi cabs, aggregator taxis, etc, cost them approximately 20-25 per cent of the daily earnings.

BMTC operates 6,229 schedules with 76,039 trips, covering 13.95 lakh kilometre, accommodating 50 lakh passengers daily.

The Transport department has, in the past one week, seized more than 400 vehicles plying illegally on the outskirts of the city and the IT corridors, including maxi cabs, tempo travellers and cabs. The department intensified the drive after the recent gang rape incident in the City.