BBMP to shift 52 unscientific bus stops in Bengaluru

In a move to address traffic woes, bus bays were created on many main roads in the city a few years ago. These bays deviate from the main road and have bus shelters. But, with some bus drivers not coming into the bay and stopping on the main road, commuters face problems regularly. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is in the process of shifting 52 bus stops in the city after they were identified as unscientific in a joint survey taken up by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP). The stops are being shifted to enable smooth flow of traffic.

“Around two months ago, we received the list of bus stops. Work is in progress to shift them, and we will finish it quickly,” said Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Civic Commissioner, BBMP.

These bus stands pose problems to vehicle users and pedestrians due to their unscientific placements. 

“When commuting on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road in Yelahanka, the volume of buses makes it difficult for anyone to drive. There is one point in particular, when travelling from Mother Dairy side towards Vidyaranyapura, called the Thirumala Dhaba bus stand. This bus stand is located right on the corner of the road where all the vehicles take a left turn. Buses stop either before the turning or after the turning, which is especially dangerous as vehicles coming from behind cannot see them,” said Ravi Prasad, a retired Central Government employee. 

Vismitha K., a resident of Malleshpalya, said, “There is a bus stop at BEML Gate right at the signal, and it is a pretty long signal. There is no shelter there and it makes no sense as the road is much wider outside BEML factory. It is a nuisance for bus crew and commuters and other motorists to get stuck at the Thippasandra road side of the signal because of this unscientific bus stop that was there even before the area boomed. It’s also unfortunate that despite being so close to PSUs, tech parks and corridors, no one has even thought of setting up bus shelters, and only the widening of Suranjandas Road was executed.” 

However, this is not a new problem. The discussions around such bus stops have been going on since 2015 in the city. Apart from motorists and pedestrians, even bus drivers face difficulties due to the placement of these bus stops.

“There are many such stops in the city and stopping there is a Herculean task, especially during peak hours. Unlike older buses, in new electric buses, the doors won’t open until the bus is stopped. We can’t move forward before the doors are closed. When we stop in junctions or turns, the vehicles behind us will be blaring horns and even scold us for obstructing traffic. On Bannerghatta Road, there are stops like Johnson Market, Aanepalya, Mico Signal and Dairy Circle where we face such issues,” said a BMTC bus driver on route 365.