‘Quality bus shelters are need of the hour and women safety is top priority’  

“Going forward, more corporate companies should come up to set up good infrastructure bus shelters in the city,“ said Sathyavathi G., Managing Director, BMTC. While answering readers’ questions about the bad state of bus shelters in the city during the #THTalksBengaluru, a live chat with The Hindu, she said that there is a need to set up better lighting and safety features at the shelters.  

“Going forward, more corporate companies should come up to set up good infrastructure bus shelters in the city,“ said Sathyavathi G., Managing Director, BMTC. While answering readers’ questions about the bad state of bus shelters in the city during the #THTalksBengaluru, a live chat with The Hindu, she said that there is a need to set up better lighting and safety features at the shelters.  

She said that the maintenance of bus shelters is a prerogative of urban local bodies and that they are supposed to provide all the necessary infrastructure.  

“These are very pertinent questions. As a citizen first, I strongly feel that it is pitch dark in most bus shelters. There are no facilities available if there is rain or wind. We have taken this up very strongly and had many discussions with the BBMP about the absence of lights. They told us that new lights and even CCTV cameras installed as security measures have been stolen by people.”  

She added, “We need to tap some companies who can put up new bus stops through CSR initiatives like ELICITA did. The smart bus stop has security systems, vending machines and even sanitary napkin vending machine for women. In a heterogenous environment like our city, this system might work. It is ‘Namma BMTC’. I hope many companies will come forward to set up bus stops.” 

The MD also emphasised on the safety of women passengers while commuting in BMTC buses. “Under Nirbhaya scheme, we have installed two CCTV cameras in 4,632 buses. We have also installed panic buttons which will immediately alert our Sarathi team and our control room. This is an ongoing process. We already have these in place in the new buses and we have to retrofit them in the old ones,” she said. 

She also said that in the Namma BMTC app, which is currently being beta tested, there is an SOS button which would alert the control room when pressed.  Responding to some queries about why the voice announcement systems in many buses were not operational, Ms. Sathyavathi said, “We will revisit that system and ensure that it works in all buses. It is helpful, especially in today’s time when everyone is engrossed in their phones and would like to know which the next stop is.”

Answering multiple questions about the various grievances at Kempegowda bus stand in Majestic, Ms. Sathyavathi promised that she will inspect the bus station and take action against the illegal activities and address various grievances there.