500k and 600k are the only 2 volvo routes between Silk Board to Vijaynagar and there is a lot of passenger density in this route. As per the BMTC route info, there is a bus every 5 mins in the peak hour between 530 and 730.
Unfortunately, between 630 and 730, there is not a single bus which comes at Silk Board. When one of the drivers was questioned, he replied that all 500k buses leave ITPL earlier than the schedule to avoid peak hour traffic. What an irony! Buses are supposed to be more during peak hours to cater to all the office goers. And when asked what will people who have to travel do, he replies arrogantly that they have to take alternate routes.
I had filed a complaint in the BMTC site once and so far, there has been no action taken although I got a reply from the Chief Traffic Manger that the concerned depot authority has been asked to ply the buses on time. I don't know who else I need to contact to stop this menace.
Some one kindly help me on this.
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Comments
BTW how are the ordinary
BTW how are the ordinary services to Vijayanagar after this time i.e ordinary 410,410A ,410C and 410D.
No 410s
Nope. I don't think 410 series buses ply after 6 pm. I haven't found any of them during this time.
This is the Major problem
This is the Major problem with Volvo's they start the service at 8am & close the duty by 6pm. I have seem plently of Volvo's at peak hour written as " Depot 13 - Kamakya" or "Depot 25 - HSR Layout" after 6pm returning to the Depot's. Ideally volov's can also run 2 shifts from 1st shift (6am to 1pm )& 2nd shift.(2pm to 10pm). This will help a lot of commuters.
Could some one please bring it a BMTC forum.
Sunil Kumar
Sector-specific issue? Reorganise depot-wise allottment.
Sunil,
While I agree with you that Volvos stopping service early is a problem, I'm not sure to the extent it is prevalent on all sectors. On several routes, they do ply upto 2030-2100, albeit at slightly reduced frequencies after 1900 (201R, 500A, 500K, 600K are cases in point). On some routes, buses are available upto 2230-2300 (335E, 360B) while on the rest, services pretty much cease after 1900.
The problem, I think, relates to the location of depots and the buses allocated to each of them. AFAIK, all of BMTC's 430-odd Volvos are today stationed at the following five depots - 7 (KBS), 13 (Kamakhya/BSK 3rd stage), 18 (ITPL), 25 (Agara/HSR Layout), 28 (Hebbal). Hence, last trips are organised based on the time the buses leave or reach the depot (since Volvos cannot be parked in ordinary bus stands overnight). Hence, for a route like 365 (ex-Bannerghatta) or 201R (ex-CV Raman Nagar), the first trip is at or after 0800, due to the bus having to first reach from the depot which is itself situated at the other end of the route. Also, the lack of (depots/buses allocated to depots) at termini are another reason why services often short-terminate.
Perhaps a solution would lie in rationalising the distribution of buses across depots, by allocating Volvos to depots that currently handle none, and also based on the route - all of 500K's buses are based at either depots 13 or 25, which are distant from both ends. In particular, allocation of Volvos to depots close to termini would help. For instance, if Volvos were allocated to Depot-16 (Deepanjalinagar) or 21 (Chandra Layout), services on 500K and 195 could operate from early in the morning to late at night, without any short-termination. It would also prevent a glut of buses to or from the depot in the mornings and evenings - the number of 45G's in the early morning or late evening is quite remarkable to note.
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Manish.
Yes depot allocation is what
Yes depot allocation is what we need to consider seriously. We have ordinaries fo routes like 410 which go all the way to chandra layout/deepanjalinagar or even peenya depots so there are bsues available around 8:30PM. But when you see volvo it is rare to find a 500K at 10PM and this being the reason the bus is bursting out on sides. If they cannot run Volvo let them run MP's atleast which have their depots in D-16 and D-17 and atelast can provide good connectivity.