April 2011 Bus Day - with CM!?

To thos who may not have seen it, here is the text of email recd from BMTC:

Seems like no one wants to state the obvious:

1. BMTC is not for the common man's benefit
2. It is for VIPs, ("VIP" may be interpreted loosely as those in power)
3. Routes are decided based on  if a VIP needs it, so if a favorite nephew needs to go to school at 8 AM and come back home at 4 PM, the bus will run at 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM, hence no schedules for the day. After the 4:30 PM the crew basically abandons the bus at the depot
4. Large amount of money made due to very high ticket prices needs to be distributed, hence Volvo and AC bus stops and LED displays on buses and GPS and huge JNURM termini and (only a movie style investigation will reveal what goes on in the repair, maint and fuel and HR areas)
5. Crew are VIPS too, (you already knew that), the Volvos are meant for racing.
6. Other state and central govt institutes get VIP buses, you will see them more often than the crowded buses, they are fast, everybody is seated and they stop only to let off the employees of the State.
7. When you imbibe these principles you will be allowed to run a transport service (Mr Murali?)
8. What about IT people, you ask  - see Infosys buses? special Volvo services?
9. Did you really think the BUS DAY would make people use buses? It is to prove that this will also be subverted for VIP use. Why is the CM wasting time going around in buses, isnt his time more valuable? No it is not, he is there only for such purposes, they will elect him or someone like him again.

hi,

I see a lot of negativism about the fact that the CM and other politicians/film stars are going to travel by bus during this bus day. I differ from the views given. This is a good initiative by BMTC. We all complain about BMTC not giving enough to market itself or its new services. And when it does try to market its Bus-day initiative, we are running it down? Tell me honestly, how many Bangaloreans (normal junta, not the ones who read Praja or other such socially-aware people) knew of the Bus-day? I guess it would be 5% or lesser of the educated class. There were a few Bus-days last year when I was left wondering whether Bus-day happened or not (no previous day announcements, no news on the next day).

This action of the BMTC does not really help the April Bus day but will start benefitting from May onwards, when the awareness increases as a result of this tamaasha.

Ashok, first of all, we at Praja don't need to be given lessons on negativity. Having been the initiators of the Bus Day concept (hope you are aware how Bus Day talk started back in Oct 2009), we have seen BMTC from close quarters now. YES, they need to market themselves better, and that is WHY we all pitched for the Bus Day concept. YES, CM taking the Bus will incrase awareness. But without new products or initiatives to support the marketing hype, the tide will turn negative.

• Where is the feedback collection process? Ever tried calling their call center? Try please.
• Except new routes here and there, where are the new initiatives to ease commuter pain?

In case you want to track what BMTC is upto, it is not easy. go to their website, click on tender info.

• eTenders? empty !
• general tenders? empty !
• Tenderwizard? "undefined" !

Either not interested in sharing their works with the general public, or not doing anything at all (via public tenders?). Your guess will be as good as mine.

Certainly this is not the way to observe Bus Day. BMTC you are fine without these gimmics. BD was suppose to be bringing relief on roads, certainly not putting other users to difficulty.

Courtesy - Bangalore Mirror

"...AC bus picked him up at his official residence near Race Course, and the machinery made sure that the entire 10-km stretch was cleared of traffic and made signal-free. The CM egged the driver on — “bega hogi, bega hogi” — to get the jamboree over and done with at the earliest..."

@kunarvjn,

Answers to all your questions are in given in the article from Bangalore mirror. Pls do read it.

The whole stretch about 10 km was cleared for the CM's Bus and also as usual security protocol, 2 police jeeps escorted it.

Certainkly this not how BMTC shoudl observe Bus Day. For few celebrities, they have put scores to face the nightmare in their daily routine. If CM ride was for marketing, I would say it is too late. This should have been done year before (in 2010) not in 2011.

Read the stories from different newspapers

The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article1678768.ece

...This bus ride, meant to popularise public transport among those who use personal transport, turned out to be a nightmare for the motorists on Friday as it threw traffic out of gear at many places in the city.

The much-touted ride on the Volvo by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his Cabinet colleagues to popularise Bus Day among Bangaloreans turned into a farce with police stalling traffic at major junctions to enable a smooth ride for the Chief Minister, who seemed to be in a tearing hurry to reach Hosur in Tamil Nadu...

Deccan Chronicle

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/bengaluru/vips%E2%80%99-bus-ride-has-commuters-fuming-802

...Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Home Minister R. Ashok kept their promise of traveling by bus on Bus Day on Friday, but they didn’t anticipate the traffic snarls their decision would cause.

Traffic movement was stopped on major roads in the city, to ensure smooth, traffic-free commuting for the VVIPs traveling in buses...

Got first hand reports to confirm that traffic was thrown out of gear, there were "unexplained" jams on Mysore Road, Banerghatta Road. Lifestyle/Vellara area and more. Wish one could easily prove that these were due to VVIP taking a joy ride on the Bus. I think we need to invest in a radio that can tune into traffic police's network, listening in to them for a week should prove what we all suspect - more than half of "sudden" traffic jams are caused by VVIP movement.

Just that the Bus Day has been taken over by the netas. Thats what the rants on this post are mostly about. Ranting while offering to help change things is how changes happen. Doing only one of the two never helps.

100% on the Bus for my commutes for about two months now, and am absolutely happy saving 30 to 50 Rs everyday depending on what shows up first, 333P or G1 :) Have a few good stories to recount, and have many bad ones too.

I want to prefer the Bus, and I have been able to. Sitting with anyone (including BMTC officials) to bitch about public transport is a lot more fun when BMTC tickets peep n pop from your shirt pocket.

Just waiting for a little more dynamic MD at BMTC, if I can put out my crib in one simple and mild line :)

And of course, we are all waiting on you Murali for that nice report titled "Outsourcing proposals and benefits for BMTC". You will go beyond the comment-here comment-there mode on the subject some day, and when you do, few of us will join you as a co-author :)

Murali, your question

But, what is mysterious is why, in spite of it all, they choose to be content sitting on the fence.

Because you are simply not leading anyone forward. If the most vocal amongst the lot is not clear on what next, how to make a dent or change, can't expect any better from others, fair enough no?

 I would very much like to use BMTC to commute to my office in Embassy Golf Links. However there is no direct bus from Outer Ring road sarjapur junction to Embassy golf links.  Getting down at Sony world junction and then board another bus is time consumming.