Unserved by metro, vast Bengaluru stretches desperately need feeder buses Premium

Linking the last-mile is often the Achilles heel of the city’s mobility. In these unserved areas, this glaring connectivity gap extends to several miles. Struggling to maintain its existing fleet of about 6,300 buses, is the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) prepared to deploy enough shuttle buses with requisite staff to fill these gaps?

Vast swathes of sprawling Bengaluru has a very specific mobility problem: Despite Namma Metro’s grand plans to expand its network, these areas will still remain unserved by the trains even after the Phase III alignments are operationalised. This calls for a well thought-out plan to bridge the gaps through smartly planned bus routes and shuttles. But are the transport agencies geared up?

Linking the last-mile is often the Achilles heel of the city’s mobility. In these unserved areas, this glaring connectivity gap extends to several miles. Struggling to maintain its existing fleet of about 6,300 buses, is the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) prepared to deploy enough shuttle buses with requisite staff to fill these gaps?

On Old Airport Road, flanked by several congested localities such as Marathahalli, Kodihalli, Domlur Layout, Konena Agrahara and more, the nearest Metro station is several kilometers away. Thousands depend on BMTC buses that often get stuck at junctions left undeveloped by the much-hyped signal-free corridor. The waiting time at the Wind Tunnel Junction, for instance, has gone up substantially since the corridor was green-signalled.

For years, a Metro alignment linking Hosakerehalli with Marathahalli along Old Airport Road was on the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) agenda. This went off the radar, as a controversial pod-taxi line was famously proposed on the route. Mobility experts dubbed this patently unworkable as a mass transit option. Eventually, that proposal died down too.

Last heard, the previous Basavaraja Bommai government mooted an underground line along this corridor, as part of an action plan to make the State a U.S. $1 Trillion economy. The big idea: To ensure access to a Station within 1-2 km of their office or residence by 2032, down from the existing average of 4-5 kms. A decision is now awaited from the new government.

Shuttle feeder buses are seen as the best option to connect the unserved areas. But even if they were around, most Phase I Metro Stations had no bus bays to let commuters seamlessly board and alight the shuttles. Baby steps are now being taken to ensure that passengers get a bus as soon as they step out of the Metro Station.

The roadmap is clear, and the BMTC top brass has even articulated it recently: Operate feeder buses till 11.30 pm, give commuters real-time data on bus location and schedule, put up digital display boards at all Metro Stations, synchronise Metro and bus timings, and make public announcements. Currently, these announcements are made inside the coaches only for feeder buses heading to Vasanthanagar from Cubbon Park Metro Station.