More than a ride: Book captures the soul of Bengaluru’s bus commutes

Compiled by a team of writers and volunteers, the book showcases vignettes of connection and community experienced aboard the city’s public buses. The book is a collaborative effort by researchers from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, the EQUIMOB project, the Institute for Social and Economic Change, the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), and the non-profit organisation Samvada. 

A new bilingual (Kannada and English) book released on Monday, Bengalurina Bussina Kathegalu (Bengaluru’s Bus Stories), captures heartfelt, real-life moments from the city’s Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses — turning everyday commutes into compelling narratives.

Compiled by a team of writers and volunteers, the book showcases vignettes of connection and community experienced aboard the city’s public buses. The book is a collaborative effort by researchers from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, the EQUIMOB project, the Institute for Social and Economic Change, the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), and the non-profit organisation Samvada. 

Whether it is a conductor offering emotional support or strangers forming unexpected friendships, the stories paint a vivid picture of how BMTC buses have quietly shaped the social fabric of the city. The initiative also aims to shift public perception and celebrating bus travel as a space of possibility rather than inconvenience. 

Prajwal Nagesh, a researcher who worked on the compilation of the book, said that there is no single author for the book and it features contributions of various collaborators. “Though every one of us has travelled in BMTC buses and have a lot of memories associated with it, it is not being recorded. The book has stories associated with the bus by people of Bengaluru,” he added.  The book has 23 stories grouped into seven different themes.

The event opened with volunteer Mamatha Gamana sharing her own memories of riding the bus, after which others in the audience began recounting their own journeys.  

In one of the stories in the book, 55-year-old Paramesh narrates his childhood memory of the double decker bus. “For some 30-35 years, I have been using BMTC buses. If there was ever a real Bengaluru, it was back then when I sat in a BMTC bus window seat. Those (double-decker) buses were like two buses stacked on top of each other. We used to feel scared of falling while getting on those buses... The double-decker buses had two conductors. On the terrace, all the youngsters would sit, while women and older people would sit below,” he said.  

Ramesh shared how a conductor convinced him to approve a match for his sister. “My sister was going to college and she travelled to college by bus. She fell in love with a guy travelling on the same bus but studying in a different college. Should you even ask how it was 10-20 years back? A guy and a girl could never travel together. When she came home, we all spoke to her patiently. She did not admit it. One day, I closed my shop and without her knowing, I followed her. In a fit of anger, I slapped my sister. By then, the bus conductor came and asked, ‘Who are you, pa? Why are you hitting the girl?’ Then I told him what she had done. He said, ‘You have learnt about this only yesterday. We have seen them for many days. We have been seeing them for 6-7 months. They have not committed any unpardonable sin. First, take them home, sit patiently and talk to the elders.’ That day, if the conductor had not told me to take them home and discuss with elders, I would have fought with my sister and taken her away. I wanted to invite the conductor to my sister’s wedding, but we could not,” he said.