BMTC, metro rise to occasion on autos, cabs strike on September 11

With autos, cabs and other private transport operators going on a 24-hour strike from Sunday midnight, the BMTC and Namma Metro have decided to scale up their operations to meet the increased demand for transportation. 

The BMTC said it would deploy 500 extra buses that would make 4,000 trips, besides running 100 additional trips on the airport route. These services will be in addition to the 57,450 trips that 5,601 BMTC buses make per day, including 950 trips by 140 Vayu Vajra buses on the airport route, the corporation said. 

The additional bus services will connect the Kempegowda (Majestic), KR Market and Shivajinagar bus stations to Kadugodi, Sarjapur, Attibele, Anekal, Bannerghatta/Jigani, Harohalli, Bidadi, Tavarekere, Nelamangala, Hesaraghatta, Doddabalapur, Devanahalli, Bagalur, Channasandra, Hoskote and other outer areas. 

The BMTC added that it would run more trips on certain routes based on demand.

Namma Metro will extend the morning peak hour by 60 minutes and increase the frequency during the non-peak hour, a senior official said. 

The morning peak hour, which lasts from 8 am to 10.30 am, will be extended to 11.30 am, meaning trains will run every five minutes, said AS Shankar, Executive Director (Operations and Maintenances), BMRCL. 

The frequency during non-peak hours will be increased to 6-8 minutes depending on the crowd, he told DH. The current frequency during non-peak hours is 10 minutes. 

A similar extension will be provided during the evening rush hour if the situation demands it, Shankar added. The evening rush hour is from 5 pm to 8 pm. 

The strike call has been given by the Federation of the Karnataka State Private Transport Associations, which claims to represent 32 organisations. 

The federation has listed 27 demands, including scrapping the free travel scheme for women in government buses. 

G Narayanaswamy, who is part of the federation, said the government had "failed" to fulfil its promises. "Come what may, we will go on strike," he said. 

According to the federation, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy had promised to arrange a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and address their demands by August 10. The government later sought another week but still "failed" to keep its word. 

Foot march 

As part of the strike, private transport operators will undertake a foot march from Sangolli Rayanna Circle to Freedom Park though they haven't secured police permission, Narayanaswamy said. 

Addressing a press conference on Sunday night, Reddy said the government was fulfilling most of the demands put forth by the federation "one by one". 

Substantial financial support is required to fulfil the demands on the Shakti scheme and lifetime tax, he added. 

The government will have to spend Rs 4,370.28 crore annually if it were to pay auto and cab drivers a monthly financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to offset their losses because of the Shakti scheme, he said. Another Rs 1,000 crore per year is required to pay private bus operators. "It's not in my hands. The chief minister has to take a call." 

The minister said the government had given more time for payment of lifetime tax on goods vehicles. 

The court's intervention is required to fulfil the demands about bike taxis and ride-hailing firms, he added. 

Reddy suggested that federation members failed to attend a meeting with the chief minister to discuss their demands. 

Meanwhile, a bus owners' association that's not related to the federation has vowed to keep its operations going, said its president G Satyanarayana Rao. 

Services to be affected

Auto-rickshaws, taxis, airport taxis, maxicabs, private buses, school buses and corporate vehicles.

School holiday today

Many private schools have declared a holiday while some will take online classes. 

On Sunday, schools sent messages to parents declaring a holiday on Monday. Some have postponed midterm exams. 

However, D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said most schools would remain open. Only those dependent on private transport operators have declared a holiday, he added. 

Maharani Cluster University has postponed all exams scheduled for Monday and will notify new dates later. 

Bengaluru City University, Bangalore University and Bengaluru North University said there wouldn’t be any change in undergraduate exams scheduled for Monday because they hadn’t received any orders from the government.

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