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Srinivas Alavilli

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TAXI DRIVERS’ SATYAGRAHA AT FREEDOM PARK

NO CHANGE IN POLLUTION LEVELS THOUGH

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board

KPCB

Lakshman

The strike by Uber anddrivers has turned out to be a blessing in disguise — traffic is thinner, motorists are reaching their destinations faster and the air feels better. Also, ridership of BMTC’sbuses has shot up by 30%. Is this the best model for the city?Have you been aroundlately and noticed how much easier it is to get around? That is the silver lining of the ongoing strike by Ola and Uber drivers. It has not only provided more space for other motorists to navigate through the otherwise cramped traffic lanes of the city, but has also ensured a 30 per cent increase in ridership for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s (BMTC’s) air-conditioned () buses.In a credible way, the strike has vindicated the demand of Citizens for Bangalore (CfB) of increasing the number ofbuses (the Buscampaign) for the citizens to move about, which would also provide an alternative to axing trees to build flyovers.In the city, taxi aggregators Ola and Uber claim a total of about 50,000 vehicles – most of which are now indefinitely off the city roads.In a way, it has served a shining example of the advantage of commuters shifting to BMTC buses – a point that has been screamed out from the rooftops time and again by transport/city experts while elaborating on solutions to the burgeoning city traffic.This change in commuting trend – however temporary – has led to a decrease in traffic congestions all over Bengaluru. One could attribute that to the absence of erratic and negligently-driving Ola and Uber drivers, who compete more with time than with each other while zooming around city.And that is exactly what has happened, albeit unwittingly: BMTC managing directorsaid there is an increase of 30 per cent in ridership on BMTC’s air-conditioned buses while also witnessing an increase – although marginal – in the ridership of ordinary buses, especially on services operated to areas to, and around,“Since the last week, there has been increase in the ridership of air conditioned buses. The corporation generates revenue of Rs 3.50 crore to Rs 3.75 crore per day.Revenue from the AC buses is close to Rs 70 lakh per day and, due to improved ridership, the revenues have increased by Rs 21 lakh per day. Taxis in the city have been a competitor for our services on various routes, which include airport routes. Their share of riders – which is illegal as per our opinion – coming to us, has had a positive impact on our ridership,”said.BMTC has a fleet of 700-odd air-conditioned buses, a majority of them operating on IT corridors like Whitefield, Electronic City, and to) from various city points. The BMTC has total fleet of 25,000 buses and more than 25 lakh people depend on them to commute.After the entry of taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber in the city, the number of taxis (aggregators and otherwise) plying on city roads drastically increased.As per data from the transport department, there are 83,909 taxis plying on the city roads as in December 2016. The number of taxis were 60,560 in the month January, 2016. A total of 23,469 taxis were added in a gap of less than a year!There have been demands from various sections of the society that the transport department should not allow registering more taxis. They have pointed out that the taxi market in Bengaluru has reached a saturation point.However, commissioner of transport MKsaid there is no proposal before the department to stop registration of taxis or issuance of permits.“The state government in the past had taken a call to limit the number of permits issued for autos. Restricting auto permits was taken in the interest of the drivers. However, we have no proposal before us to limit issuance of taxi permits,” he said.As of December 2016, Bengaluru had 46.6 lakh privately owned motorbikes and 12.88 lakh cars. In the past nine months more than 4.33 lakh new cars and two-wheelers have been added to the roads of the city. BMTC services 50 lakh passengers each day and the figure has remained the same for several years. Ridership has stagnated in the last five years along with the number of buses in service.“BMTC has seen a 30 per cent rise in the commuters recently and I am sure it will see much more in the coming days. They have managed the situation well by carrying more load (due to the taxi drivers’ strike), which will help people understand the actual potential of local buses., buses take more time to reach to a destination than a car, but there are only four people sitting in a car whereas a bus can accommodate hundreds. Need and speed drives human behaviour, like the scheme of happy hours in BMTC buses is a good move and we expect they will make every hour happy for the commuters,” said, volunteer of CfB.Bengaluru has the highest bus fares in India. While Mumbai has recently reduced fares, Chennai has not increased fares since 2011. Bengaluru has surpassed Pune, whichused to be number one in 2014.Citizens for Bengaluru, the same group that is fighting against the steel flyover, has started another campaign to preserve Bengaluru. It is asking the state government to put more buses on the road by allocating funds for the BMTC in the budget. Call the number if you support their cause.Meanwhile, taxi drivers have started Satyagraha at Freedom Park, demanding the state government’s intervention in the matter. A driver said, “As the strike has hit the business of aggregators, they are now trying to lure us with new incentive schemes. Drivers have received messages stating that they would get Rs 500 per trip or Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 for ten trips. These are temporary tactics. Earlier, drivers were finding it difficult to get Rs 1,500 incentive even after completing the targeted number of trips. Our protest will continue till the government intervenes and taxi aggregators address our grievances.”Although the) is studying whether the Ola, Uber drivers’ strike has plummeted air pollution levels in Bengaluru, the board’s chairmansaid: “The city has got close to 66 lakh vehicle population and when you compare taxis, it is very minimal. But it is a fact that 30 to 40% of the taxi vehicles running on diesel don’t comply with the norms. There will be no change in the air quality.