BMTC | Bangalore Metropolitan Bus Transport Corporation Updates

[heavenlyabode]

Wow. Awesome. How many cycles can it carry?

[bk3494]

BMTC ROCKS!!!!

[bk3494]

BANGALORE: Life without a Vajra will now be unthinkable to many Bangaloreans. They know how commuting has become a breeze after the red, impressive buses rolled out. There's ample proof too.

Sample this: The number of commuters picking up a daily pass has gone up by 50,000 in three months. The BMTC sold 90 lakh passes for Volvo buses in December 2010 as against 1.41 lakh in March 2011.

"We have been able to break even with our current services. Soon, we will be able to make a profit. In 2008, the cost of running a Vajra was Rs 50 per kilometre. The profit gained was Rs 35. Over the years this margin has gone up. In 2010, a Vajra was making a profit of Rs 50 per kilometre,"' said a spokesperson.

Hosur Road, Old Airport Road, Marathalli and the Ring Road routes remain the most in demand. This apart, Volvo buses are the most-sought-after mode of transport to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).

Besides comfort, commuters consider the Volvo to be cost-effective. "I work on Residency Road and stay at Marathalli. If I have to take an autorickshaw home they demand more than Rs 200. If I opt for a Volvo, it costs me Rs 40. It is more comfortable and safer," said Preethi Padmanabhan, a private firm employee.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/8793660.cms

[bk3494]

Bangalore, June 9, DHNS:

The sudden and steep hike in Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus pass rate caused chaos in most of the bus stands across the City on Thursday. Several students, who had come to buy passes, had to return home disappointed.

Students were seen making calls to their parents asking for more money to buy the passes as the BMTC hiked the rates by Rs 100 across the board for this academic year.

The revised pass rates for 2011-12 are Rs 700 for high school students, Rs 1,100 for college students and Rs 1,400 for medical, technical and evening college students. High school girls can pay Rs 525 for the pass as they get a 25 per cent discount from the government.

The rates for the 10-month pass in the academic year were at Rs 600 (Rs 450 for girls), Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,300, respectively. Although the primary and middle school students are eligible for free passes they are charged Rs 70 as IT fee, insurance and service charges.

Sources in the BMTC told Deccan Herald that the increase in the pass rates was only marginal and that it is not something the Corporation could have avoided. Strangely, the public announcement was silent on the hike in the pass rates. Santosh Kumar, a student of RBANMS said: "There was no intimation on the hike in rates. I have to come from Kammanahalli all over again tomorrow."

Source:http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...pass-rate.html

[rsrikanth05]

What happened to the Travel as you like passes?
I had one in 2009-2010. 10 months. Rs. 3060 in all Suvarna/Pushpak and Normal buses.
Lovely thing it was.

[engineer.akash]

Bengaluru is BEST! BMTC is growing rapidly, while BEST is losing commuters

June 10, 2011 02:25 PM |

Sudhir Badami
Mumbai’s BEST and Bengaluru’s BMTC are both innovating to cope up with growing populations. But while BMTC has been growing fast, BEST seems to be losing commuters mainly to the railway system. BMTC can be proud of its services if it is also able to become financially profitable

BEST (or Bombay Electric Supply and Transport undertaking) in Mumbai has a bus fleet of 4,700, of which 288 are air-conditioned. These buses not only cover the 437 sq km area managed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) but also provide services to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) areas, albeit to a limited extent. The bus routes have been planned on the staged service system, with point-to-point travel, allowing commuters to choose a route best suited to the individual concerned. Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport, with its fleet of 226 buses, provides reciprocal services to MCGM areas, in addition to service within NMMC areas. BEST also plies buses to other adjacent municipalities of Mira-Bhayandar and Thane. Thane too has a service to CST, Mumbai, as well as Mira-Bhayandar. In fact, there is one more agency that provides public transport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and that is the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). While MSRTC does ply stage service on its inter-city routes like the Eastern and Western Express Highways and the Sion-Panvel Highway, its major service is from state transport (ST) bus stands to ST bus stands within the MMR.

However, to sum-up, it is BEST that commands the public transportation scenario in the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayandar urban agglomerate. It carries out a stupendous task, facilitating mobility for about 43 lakh commuters daily, which latest reports suggest has dropped to about 38 lakh.

Innovations are a must if one has to improve efficiency of service, and thereby overall profitability. BEST has the day ticket scheme of Rs25 that enables a commuter to travel by a BEST bus anywhere on its non-AC, non-corridor services. If corridor buses are to be used, one buys a day ticket of Rs40. The equivalent monthly pass amounts are Rs555 and Rs805 respectively. Very recently, BEST has allowed Rs555 monthly pass-holders to travel for the day on corridor buses for a ticket charge of Rs15 and not Rs40. That's innovative pricing.



BEST provides four kinds of services. The ordinary and express routes clubbed as non-AC and non-corridor; the corridor routes which have very limited stops and traverse over flyovers and the Sea-link; the AC routes, which also have limited stops but do not go over flyovers; and AC express routes, which is AC buses run like the corridor routes.

The fact that buses plying on the highways are packed during peak hours, means there is room for improvement through further innovative schemes, like introducing articulated and bi-articulated buses and the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). Introduction of BRTS will enable the bus fare structure to be reformed and made affordable to a larger number of commuters, who otherwise opt for the sub-urban railway system.

Let us shift our attention to Bengaluru. BEST in Bengaluru? The reality is that it is not BEST in Bengaluru but best in Bengaluru. Why do I say that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is better than BEST! The figures speak for themselves. Since 2006, the number of bus depots have increased from 25 to 35. The fleet size has increased from 4,106 to 6,111. Effective kilometres traversed per day has increased from 8.67 lakh km to 12.55 lakh km and staff strength has increased from about 19,000 to 33,000. In 2001, BMTC employed about 13,000 people, it had a fleet size of 2,264 and carried 26 lakh commuters. Today, it carries 43 lakh passengers every day. How has that come about?



Bengaluru has grown not only vertically, but the urban sprawl is also considerable. People from rural Bengaluru who at one time cycled to the city, now perforce use the public transport as the roads and traffic have become hostile. Changing work culture demands that they put in eight to ten hours on the job. The number of professionals has also increased and many have taken to travelling by their personal vehicles, two- as well as four-wheelers. With the growing population and growing vehicular traffic, road and public transport carrying capacity needed to be augmented.

The JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) funding has come in handy to augment the bus fleet and associated infrastructure. Unlike in Mumbai or for that matter in Hyderabad, Bengaluru has had no rail-based transportation infrastructure. Metro Rail has been conceived and is being projected as an answer to the city's traffic woes. A twin route, one north-south and the other east-west has been planned and is under execution, albeit at an unenviable pace. Meanwhile, the BMTC has been innovative in its services for commuters.

As Bengaluru has grown, its road infrastructure projects in the form of ring roads (outer and inner), flyovers and underpasses, are being implemented vigorously. And BMTC is providing bus services effectively, on these as well as the other roads across the city. In a hierarchical manner, let us see what the bus system is like.

One can put the Vayu Vajra service at the top of the list. It operates Volvo air-conditioned buses to different parts of Bengaluru and far-flung suburbs. These are the ultra-low floor buses that halt at bus stands at the airport in such a way that the floor at the front door is actually just above the pavement at the bus stop, leaving just a 75 mm climb. This facilitates loading luggage easily too, for which adequate luggage racks has also been provided. The buses also have provision for a wheel-chair bound person to board the bus with reasonable ease and clamp-up on board. The same space is dually used for bicycles, which facilitates ride-carry-ride. These buses cover distances in reasonable time, but the traffic congestion affects its functioning too.



These buses adhere to scheduled timing and have some vacant seats to pick up passengers along the route.

Next is the air-conditioned Volvo Vajra service. The buses are similar to the Vayu Vajra service, but they do not have space for a luggage rack, although they can accommodate wheelchairs and cycles. These buses ply on ring roads and some inside roads too. They also cover far-out places. They have the same bus number as ordinary route buses and traverse the same routes, but they are air-conditioned and have limited stops.

Then there are the BIG10, which ply in the far suburbs to the outer core of the city to facilitate a changeover to buses taking you to your destination. This helps avert city congestion delays for commuters from far-out places, enabling them to cover long distances in quick time. The Suvarna and Pushpak are non-AC bus services with better bus suspensions and seating arrangements plying on some of the routes of the ordinary bus routes.



If the bus destination boards are less cluttered, i.e. only in one language like in Mumbai - say Kannada board in the front and English or Devnagari in the rear or side, it would facilitate the growing non-Kannadiga population to quickly gathering the route number and destination information.

BMTC also has the day ticket and monthly pass facility like BEST has. What is lacking in both is the Bus Rapid Transit System. But them the BRTS needs to be planned for a city by its transportation group such as MMRDA for Mumbai and the Urban Land Transport of the Urban Development Department of Karnataka Government. While I do see that ULT/UDD of GoK is seriously considering this facility, MMRDA seems to have gone past that level of seriousness. It is too engrossed with Metro and Monorail. Given the scenario, it is for you to judge which of the two is better or whether they can both learn from each other.

[Sudhir Badami is a civil engineer and transportation analyst. He is on the Government of Maharashtra's Steering Committee on Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (MMRDA) technical advisory committee on BRTS for Mumbai. He is also member of the Research & MIS Committee of Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA). He was a member of the Bombay High Court-appointed erstwhile Road Monitoring Committee (2006-07). He has been an active campaigner against noise pollution for over a decade and he is a strong believer in a functioning democracy. He can be contacted on email at sudhirbadami@gmail.com.]

http://www.moneylife.in/article/beng...ers/17168.html

Badamis views

[Indian Sun]

Something that I've always wondered. Not to take credit away from BMTC, they're a wonderful organization. But are they "extra" successful because they don't have a parallel transport mode to compete with ? In Mumbai,Delhi,Chennai,Kolkata, there is an alternative to buses. There isn't one in Bangalore. Should be interesting to see the situation 5-6 years on when the Metro becomes fully operational. I'm sure BMTC will modify itself to aid as well as compete with the Metro.

[engineer.akash]

Originally Posted by Indian Sun

Something that I've always wondered. Not to take credit away from BMTC, they're a wonderful organization. But are they "extra" successful because they don't have a parallel transport mode to compete with ? In Mumbai,Delhi,Chennai,Kolkata, there is an alternative to buses. There isn't one in Bangalore. Should be interesting to see the situation 5-6 years on when the Metro becomes fully operational. I'm sure BMTC will modify itself to aid as well as compete with the Metro.

True, but BMTC is not seeing metro as its competitor but cashing in on the opportunities metro lines throw open to the corporation like Feeder traffic etc.

Bangalore's urban sprawl makes BMTC the leader forever

[rsrikanth05]

Originally Posted by Indian Sun

Something that I've always wondered. Not to take credit away from BMTC, they're a wonderful organization. But are they "extra" successful because they don't have a parallel transport mode to compete with ? In Mumbai,Delhi,Chennai,Kolkata, there is an alternative to buses. There isn't one in Bangalore. Should be interesting to see the situation 5-6 years on when the Metro becomes fully operational. I'm sure BMTC will modify itself to aid as well as compete with the Metro.

+1

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

True, but BMTC is not seeing metro as its competitor but cashing in on the opportunities metro lines throw open to the corporation like Feeder traffic etc.

Neither does BEST view the Metro, Monorail or Suburban rail as competition.
Majority BEST routes are feeder routes, and BEST is supposed to take over the Monorail. Apart from this, unlike BMTC which is purely into buses, BEST is also an electricity supplier.
BEST introduced AC buses 8 yrs before BMTC.

HOWEVER, the 'Rear entry front exit' system of Bombay beats the crap out the 'get in get out whichever way you want, push everyone in your way' currently in the running in Bangalore.
And windows help too.. along with the low floor buses.
BMTC needs a lot to learn, making profit is one, but Commuters comfort is another.

[engineer.akash]

BMTC VOLVO BUSES IN BANGALORE, NOW WITH BICYCLE RACKS!

Bangalore's BMTC Volvo Bus with Bicycle Racks
Going green and staying fit while doing so is one thing but getting trampled by bigger, mostly inconsiderate motorized forms of traffic are rather the norm on Indian roads where cyclists are given lesser respect and consequentially space than even pedestrians. In a very unique initiative of sorts, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, which runs the city’s fleet of commuter buses, has now come up with a bicycle rack for cyclists to mount their bicycles on in it’s flagship series of Volvo Vajra city buses.
Through this, three things can be achieved. One, longer distances or faster traffic flowing stretches such as the flyovers and high speed roads can be negotiated by the cyclist through the BMTC Volvos. Secondly, the all important last mile connectivity, which often is the prime reason for people shunning public transport can now be overcome as folks traveling in Volvo buses can cycle down to their destinations after getting off from the nearest point.
The third reason of course is the biggest benefit that cycling brings to the table, of that of being able to stay fit, considering the sedentary lifestyle that most of us have due to our professional considerations. Going forward, this concept of bicycle could also be implemented on the inter city and interstate buses run by the Karnataka state government through the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, depending on the acceptance of this pilot initiative. So, this move of BMTC, one of the most progressive state owned public bus transport corporations in India, certainly requires some lauding.
That said, the successful implementation of this concept is something that is extremely critical, for the success or failure of this model will have a direct bearing upon other cities of India adopting this novel approach. So, if you’re a cyclist living in Bangalore, time for you to hop on to your bicycle and try this latest service that BMTC’s Volvo buses offer. And yes, you can always email us using our contact page to tell us whether bicycle racks on Volvo buses work for you or does it need further tweaking. We’d love to hear from you. Happy pedaling!
Image Courtesy Harsha Varste via Anil Uchil

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/bicycl...e-racks-43645/

[rsrikanth05]

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

BMTC VOLVO BUSES IN BANGALORE, NOW WITH BICYCLE RACKS!



http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/bicycl...e-racks-43645/

Didn't we just post that a page ago?

GGI had requested that in 2009.
They made it available on a few buses but it fizzled out.
Now, looks like they're back.

[gentem]

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

BMTC VOLVO BUSES IN BANGALORE, NOW WITH BICYCLE RACKS!



http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/bicycl...e-racks-43645/

You can take ur cycle inside a volvo bus. That is what above article was saying. No need of extra rack etc

[rsrikanth05]

Originally Posted by gentem

You can take ur cycle inside a volvo bus. That is what above article was saying. No need of extra rack etc

In 2009, the trial buses had a cycle rack INSIDE the bus.

[naveen_blr]

BANGALORE: After almost one and a half years, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will get 600 new buses, of which 200 will be air-conditioned coaches. They will augment the fleet by July this year.

Sources in the corporation told The Hindu that BMTC has started trial operations with Corona low-floor air-conditioned bus, which will be inducted into the fleet gradually. The 400 regular, semi-low floor buses will come from Tata Motors while an equal number will will be inducted later this year.

The Corona buses, built on monocoque platform, will cost the corporation about Rs. 65 lakh each and the regular ones, Rs. 23 lakh each, the sources said. Half the regular buses will be supplied fully built and the rest as chassis on which BMTC will have to build the bodies.

Euro IV compliant

All these buses comply with the emission standards of Euro IV, which has been made mandatory for 11 cities, including Bangalore, by the Union Government.

While BMTC officials claim that non-availability of Euro IV buses in the market was the reason for non-procurement of buses during 2010-11, sources attribute it to the tiff between BMTC and two major bus suppliers, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors.

BMTC had levied about Rs. 32 crore penalty on the two bus manufacturing giants for delayed supply and technical defects in buses. Even though the corporation had invited tenders for supply of buses in 2010-11, the two reportedly stayed away from the bidding process.

Refund sought

Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland had petitioned the Transport Minister that the penalty was not justified and pleaded for refund. Minutes of the BMTC board meeting chaired by the Transport Minister R. Ashok, who is also BMTC Chairperson, showed that the manufacturers had threatened not to participate in the tender process for supply of buses to BMTC this year if their demand was not met.

Under JNNURM

The corporation had procured 1,000 fully built semi-low floor buses from these two manufacturers under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at a cost of Rs. 323.82 crore. The manufacturers, BMTC says, had not only defaulted in meeting the deadline but their vehicles came with several technical defects. Accordingly, BMTC had levied a penalty of Rs. 28.53 crore on Tata Motors and Rs. 3.3 crore on Leyland.

Demand

Of the Rs. 28.53-crore penalty on Tata Motors, BMTC had refunded a part of the amount, which was appropriated against technical defects. Tata Motors, however, had demanded further refund of Rs. 16.24 crore levied towards delayed supply. Ashok Leyland too had demanded refund of Rs. 3.3 crore.

The sources said that now that the process of refunding the penalty had been initiated, the bus manufacturers have come forward to supply the vehicles. However, Ashok Leyland did not participate in the latest tendering process as it was not in a position to supply Euro IV complaint buses.
http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/11/stor...1163120400.htm

[gentem]

Oh no.. No tata fully built buses they are ugly and retro. Tata ac bus is ok but normal bus is yuck. Article says only half are built by bmtc hope all are built by bmtc

[s.yogendra]

BMTC to get 600 new buses by July

BANGALORE: After almost one and a half years, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will get 600 new buses, of which 200 will be air-conditioned coaches. They will augment the fleet by July this year.

Sources in the corporation told The Hindu that BMTC has started trial operations with Corona low-floor air-conditioned bus, which will be inducted into the fleet gradually. The 400 regular, semi-low floor buses will come from Tata Motors while an equal number will will be inducted later this year.

The Corona buses, built on monocoque platform, will cost the corporation about Rs. 65 lakh each and the regular ones, Rs. 23 lakh each, the sources said. Half the regular buses will be supplied fully built and the rest as chassis on which BMTC will have to build the bodies.

Euro IV compliant

All these buses comply with the emission standards of Euro IV, which has been made mandatory for 11 cities, including Bangalore, by the Union Government.

While BMTC officials claim that non-availability of Euro IV buses in the market was the reason for non-procurement of buses during 2010-11, sources attribute it to the tiff between BMTC and two major bus suppliers, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors.

BMTC had levied about Rs. 32 crore penalty on the two bus manufacturing giants for delayed supply and technical defects in buses. Even though the corporation had invited tenders for supply of buses in 2010-11, the two reportedly stayed away from the bidding process.

Refund sought

Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland had petitioned the Transport Minister that the penalty was not justified and pleaded for refund. Minutes of the BMTC board meeting chaired by the Transport Minister R. Ashok, who is also BMTC Chairperson, showed that the manufacturers had threatened not to participate in the tender process for supply of buses to BMTC this year if their demand was not met.

Under JNNURM

The corporation had procured 1,000 fully built semi-low floor buses from these two manufacturers under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at a cost of Rs. 323.82 crore. The manufacturers, BMTC says, had not only defaulted in meeting the deadline but their vehicles came with several technical defects. Accordingly, BMTC had levied a penalty of Rs. 28.53 crore on Tata Motors and Rs. 3.3 crore on Leyland.

Demand

Of the Rs. 28.53-crore penalty on Tata Motors, BMTC had refunded a part of the amount, which was appropriated against technical defects. Tata Motors, however, had demanded further refund of Rs. 16.24 crore levied towards delayed supply. Ashok Leyland too had demanded refund of Rs. 3.3 crore.

The sources said that now that the process of refunding the penalty had been initiated, the bus manufacturers have come forward to supply the vehicles. However, Ashok Leyland did not participate in the latest tendering process as it was not in a position to supply Euro IV complaint buses.

Hindu

[gentem]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...hread-130.html

The retrograde tata non-ac bus. Esp. side windows are bad, you cant paste an ad.

[rsrikanth05]

Originally Posted by gentem

Oh no.. No tata fully built buses they are ugly and retro. Tata ac bus is ok but normal bus is yuck. Article says only half are built by bmtc hope all are built by bmtc

Tata Non AC is better than AC where the dang AC doesn't work half the time.
It has BIGGER windows as compared to the old Suvarnas ...

[strike2]

tata non-ac buses are wider compared to their AL counterparts....they have more standing space compared to the AL buses

[rsrikanth05]

Originally Posted by strike2

tata non-ac buses are wider compared to their AL counterparts....they have more standing space compared to the AL buses

Also they are wider than the BMTC built JnNURM buses.