For 10 days, BMTC to ferry commuters from CBD to satellite stands

With the State government barring entry to private buses in the Central Business District (CBD) of Bengaluru from February 1 to 10 in order to decongest roads during Invest Karnataka-2016, scheduled between February 3 and 5, BMTC buses will ferry passengers to and from different satellite bus stands where the private transport buses will be parked.

The private bus services to different destinations will be operated from the satellite bus stands. At least 1.5 lakh passengers will be affected daily given that more than 3,000 private buses operate multiple trips. The private buses have stands in CBD areas such as Majestic, Gandhinagar, K R Market and Kalasipalya.

They have to now operate from the outskirts of the City such as the Outer Ring Road, end points of the state and national highways and satellite bus stations. The private buses plying on National Highway-4 have to terminate at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre at 10th mile, Tumakuru Road; buses from Chennai and Kolar have to stop near hanging bridge in K R Puram; those from various Tamil Nadu districts at Hosur Main Road close to Attibele and those from Mysuru side at Kengeri.

It is the traffic police’s responsibility to ensure that there is smooth traffic between CBD and these points and the BMTC buses operate smoothly, official sources told Deccan Herald.

The BMTC will run buses to the pick up points and feeder services will ferry back passengers to different Traffic and Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) and to Kempegowda Bus Station.
The government will use the ban as a trial run to guage the impact on the City’s traffic and will then take a call on whether to make it a permanent measure.

Transport commissioner Rame Gowda said a permanent ban will be considered after studying how the 10-day restriction works and giving private operators enough time to make alternative arrangements. “We have an open mind on the issue,” Gowda said.