Congestion chaos: Bus stand, parking spot or vending zone?

People stand on the road waiting for the BMTC bus at the Maruthinagar bus stop on Malleshpalya Main Road, even as a car that has gathered dust is almost permanently parked behind them, blocking half of the access to the bus shelter.

People stand on the road waiting for the BMTC bus at the Maruthinagar bus stop on Malleshpalya Main Road, even as a car that has gathered dust is almost permanently parked behind them, blocking half of the access to the bus shelter.

On Jeevan Bima Nagar Road, one stop away from the bus stand, a board on a tree announces that it is a bus stop, though there is no semblance of it being one.

Though the government is coming up with ways to bolster bus ridership by way of introducing the Shakti Scheme and feeder services to metro stations, in several areas across Bengaluru, there are either no bus shelters or the existing ones have been encroached upon by vehicles or vendors. Due to this, people are forced to stand and wait till their bus arrives.

It becomes an exhausting exercise for those who travel by buses with a lesser frequency. Rishita Suresh, a student who commutes from the Marathahalli Junction, said, “I have to wait for the Shivajinagar bus every morning for college and it gets tiring because the bus comes only once every 20-25 minutes. I wish there was someplace to sit.”

Another place where there is no bus stand is the Sarjapur Signal stop. Especially during peak hours, people have to wait, only to enter into a crowded bus and stand again. “I find it difficult to wait especially during the rain,” said Prakash K., a commuter at the Iblur stop. The Agara Petrol Bunk bus stop also does not have places to sit, so people end up sitting on the slabs next to the petrol bunk.

Another problem is inadequate seating, especially at key crowded junctions like Indiranagar, frequented by people commuting between the central parts of the city and residential neighborhoods like Jeevan Bima Nagar, Murgeshpalya, and Vignan Nagar.

The seating issue becomes even worse during heavy rains. Sreelatha, a college student, said, “I usually take the metro to Indiranagar and then a bus home from there. Last week I reached the bus stop around 8 p.m. and missed the bus. I had to wait another hour for the next one when it suddenly started to rain. I didn’t have an umbrella and everyone was huddled under the small roof of that bus stop so I got completely drenched. All of us could barely fit into that place till another bus came and half the people got on it.”