Some of us think that operating local shuttles as the last mile / local connect option will help bring more people from deeper areas to the trunk routes, and thus make public transport better. However, BMTC folks don't find local shuttles to be viable. One reason given for un-viability is minibus design. They would want a minibus where the entrance is right next to the driver so that 1 staff (driver himself) can operate the local shuttle. Arguing about smartcards / pass-only options for using local shuttle is one thing. But as far as the equipment is concerned, I have seen a few in Bangalore itself. Here is picture of one, notice the entrance door right in the front.
Single door shuttles would still be inconvenient, getting in and out will take longer time. You could compensate for that by forcing the local shuttles to be pass-only, or smartcard-only.
Local shuttles need not be operated by BMTC themselves if they find the option "un-viable". I would request Murali to stay away. But the options are outsource local shuttles for designated suburban areas with strict norms for smartcards etc. And this outsourcing could be done to RWA like groups themselves, need not be regular private parties.
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Its an ex'llent idea to have
Its an ex'llent idea to have mini bus ...for the last mile connectivity...hope BMTC does this as early as possible. It will get rid of the auto and its problems to great extent. every time each and every people are not happy with auto's when it comes to last mile connectivity...we always end up in paying more...
Regards
kamalakar pandit.
Sahakarnagar 'Local Shuttles'
Sahakar Nagar is a very widely spread area. Buses to inner portion is less in frequency. People get down on the Bellary Road and take the seat autos usually 4-5 people sitting. They charge 5 rupee per person.
A control should be brought into this with only 3 per shared auto or have a 7 seater tata magic seat autos serving the bus stop of locality with inner roads. Shared autos from TTMCs and Metro Stations manned by a Traffic Cop who ensures there is no overloading, would be more convenient for commuters.
RWA can own /operate
As discussed previously, I don't think dedicated last mile services would be viable (also, BMTC says they have already tested & found it unviable).
One possible way to make this viable is for the RWAs to own, operate & subsidise the services from parking revenues, assuming RWAs are allowed to manage local areas & charge for parking.
Though this might lead to inherent problems, such as manipulation of accounts by some RWA members, etc, it may be worth exploring with mandatory book-keeping & submission of monthly accounts to public domain/s.
@Vasanth - 4/5 in an auto is still okay. In Navi Mumbai, autos load 7/8 persons during peak hours (2 in front on each side of driver + 5 on back seat - with people sitting on the laps of others)! If cops try to regulate, the services will halt temporarily & restart again later.
Short vs long trips
I don't think dedicated last mile services would be viable (also, BMTC says they have already tested & found it unviable).
I have not seen the study/data but have heard from various people that BMTC makes the most money in the 5km range because of the way fares are designed. As the distance increases the fares dont increase proportionally. If true BMTC must actually be earning more on short trips than long ones. Will be good if some Praja people can do some math based on the ticket fares for various distances on the routes they use to clear the air on this one.
Nothing is viable for BMTC( unless the route touches Majestic)
Pathetic to see, even the routes introduced after the Bus Day experience ending/starting in Majestic. The initial set of MF feeders made sense, the revised ones are not serving the purpose of metro feeders, probably they serve few areas under served so far.
I doubt even their claim of carrying 40% of trips made in Bangalore. Assume each bus carries 60 passengers, on any arterial road you should see one BMTC bus for every 90 vehicles(Bikes, Autos, Taxis & Private cars taken together, ignoring the other vehicles and assuming only one passenger uses these @ a time ) at any given time of the day.
Start counting the number of these vehicles plying in a direction once a BMTC bus passes in that direction and stop it on seeing the next BMTC bus in the same direction. Note down the numbers at different times of the day and take the average. You will not see these numbers any where close to one bus for every 90 other types of vehicles except around the busstands.
Optimal use of their vehicles are another issue, one can see many buses heading to the depots around 6PM, that is at a time when the evening traffic peaks. Is this an efficient operation?
What about diversion of non-pushpak bues running as contract carriages? Any body have any numbers? My guestimate is ~ 500 buses, that is close to 10% of total buses/schedules running on contract @ peak hours depriving the commuters the convenience, forcing them to over crowd the buses left on general routes.
I see the buses parked in the office complex starting from 4.15 PM, an hour earlier than their start time (5.15PM), assume each has an hour of running time on contracted route, one hour to get back to their servicing route, 500 buses are away for 6 hours on each working day.
If they have any knowledge of transport planning, the G3/G4 (Big 10 routes) should have been starting from MG Road metro station, with alternate buses being Volvos on these routes. Also G12 should be starting from Byappanahalli metro with another Big 10 route plying to ITPL starting from Byappanahalli.
Loads Insufficient ?
BMTC must actually be earning more on short trips than long ones
Loads maybe a problem - 314AA is (was?) one example that I know of. It is a short-haul route that was running near-empty most of the day & got full only during peak hours.
Thus, they may have faced problems with viability by keeping dedicated short-haul routes. Will need to check what the issues are for not operating minibuses in larger numbers.
Bus pooling
BMTC will only provide buses and monthly passes while an external agency will manage routes and operations. Encouraged by enthusiastic response, in two months since the initiative has begun, the corporation has provided 65 buses to tech parks such as Global Village, RMZ, AMD and Brigade Metropolis. Talks are on to lure other companies to use the bus pooling, according to Dileep Sathya of Indium Projects, the agency that manages the services.
Source
I would like to explore the
I would like to explore the bus pooling option for apartments in my locality (near Hosa road).
If any of you have ideas on whom to talk to, Please let me know.