Guess what 400 signatures could get you in Bengaluru? A bus

Bengaluru: There is a story behind Metro Feeder Bus 314A/1, launched on July 19 by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to serve the residents of Kaggadasapura and C V Raman Nagar. And the moral of the story too: when people get together, they can get things done.

It took 400 signatures from citizens concerned and three months of hustling the power that be before the long-awaited bus materialised.

The feeder bus, apart from serving residents, is also expected to benefit those working in Bagmane Tech Park as well as the employees of the Defence Research and Development Organistaion (DRDO) office in Kaggadasapura.

The campaign started in 2024, said Shachi Pathak, a resident of Kaggadasapura who led the campaign.

"To get that 400 signatures was not easy, but it was easier than my first civic campaign to rejuvenate Kaggadasapura lake. Now, I understand how to go about these things: persuasion is the key," said Pathak to PTI.

Pathak, who has been active in civic volunteering space since 2022, knows how the system works, agreed Srinivas Alavilli, Senior Fellow at WRI India, who works on creating sustainable transport solutions.

"She understood the route needs, mobilised her neighbours and apartment associations. Collected 400 signatures and then submitted a formal petition to BMTC in person," he added.

A software engineer, who had to quit her job for personal reasons, Pathak said she now runs a firm that provides resume writing consultation.

Pathak, 44, moved to Bengaluru from Varanasi after her marriage in 2006.

"Initially, I started by volunteering to manage social media groups of residents from C V Raman Nagar and K R Puram constituencies. It didn't take me long to realise that there is a huge gap between people having issues and authority taking action. To bridge this gap, we need more active citizens," she added.

Pathak recalled how when she finally stood up for Kaggadasapura lake, she stood alone as no one really knew her.

"It was also a lonely battle, because people had by then given up. I was not the first one to talk about it. But I still surveyed and collected feedback from hundreds of residents and submitted it to the Chief Commissioner and MLAs," said Pathak.

The success of that project and her conviction had people rallying behind her for the subsequent campaigns.

Around October 2023, Pathak said she joined the group of people who were pushing for the first feeder bus for the area.

"The first bus came easily enough, in just a month, but one feeder bus service was not enough to cover the whole area, so our neighbourhood got left out," said Pathak.

The next phase of their campaign faced delays, she added.

"BMTC was slow to act on some of our suggestions, and key routes like Kaggadasapura Main Road remained unaddressed. Additionally, damaged roads forced us to pause efforts for a while. After the Lok Sabha elections in mid-2024, we revived the campaign with renewed energy," she said.

Over the years of dealing with authorities, Pathak said she understood the power of people getting together.

"One person does not matter to the authorities. The more people, the better it is for the campaign. Also, persuasion is a continuous process. So, I realised that it is very important to keep people engaged and to build a community," said Pathak.

This is where 'X', Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, came to her help, said Pathak. Through various groups, she and other volunteers cater to the social needs of her neighbourhood.

"We help residents to connect with each other to get information or advice on education, real estate, reselling of old items, or even pursue their hobbies. We also have a group for Kannada learning. Many women entrepreneurs are benefitting from these groups," said Pathak.

Another citizen group that is leveraging social media to build a community is the popular HSR Citizen Forum, whose sustainable living campaigns often go viral.

Incidentally, the first successful feeder bus service was introduced in HSR Layout in August 2023.

Shashidhara K, a member of HSR Citizen Forum, said because they were selected by Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT)'s Sustainable Mobility Accords (SuMA) Initiative, due to their proactive citizen initiatives, they could plan the route and stops, based on the feedback from residents, making the service most effective in Bengaluru.

"We planned this over three years with DULT. We had bus stops at every 300 m, about 18 of them, and situated in such a way that either direction commuters would have access to a bus every 5 to 8 minutes," said Shasidhara.

But where HSR Citizen Forum really won is in its relentless outreach efforts. The campaign that lasted three months ingrained the idea of using feeder buses that they run full almost at any time, said Shanthi Tummala, an active member of the citizen forum, to PTI.

People, irrespective of their social standing, have developed the habit of jumping into them instead of taking their private vehicles, she added.

Tummala said BMTC had introduced feeder buses twice before in HSR Layout and had to phase them out as they didn't get expected traction. "This time, we decided to involve citizens even during the planning stage. We put out route maps at every place possible. We literally drove into every resident's head about the availability of service, timings and the route. It has paid off now," added Tummala.