Metro

Namma Metro

KSRTC

Peenya

Bengaluru

BMTC

Baiyappanahalli

Kengeri

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation

Baiyappanahali

Peenya Metro Station

Bengaluru Exhibition Centre

If implemented, 6,000+ buses will stop at four corners of city whereops begin; but a lot needs to be done for seamless connectivityWith Phase 1 open, there’s a lot riding on– and it’s not just the euphoric Bengalureans. Metro is now being viewed as a solution to the city’s notorious traffic problem. The traffic police have forwarded a proposal to the state government that looks to keep all long-distance buses out of core city areas.The move is expected the rid the inner roads off at least 6,000 intercity buses. The traffic police have recommended that allbuses terminate at satellite bus stations on the outskirts. It has also asked for the earmarking of spots from where private buses can operate without entering the city.The city has 68 lakh registered vehicles in addition to about 5 lakh outstation vehicles, as per the traffic police’s statistics.“Ideally, these long-distance buses should now be terminated outside the city now that Phase 1 of the Metro is operational. We have proposed that government buses terminate at. Also, space should be identified for private buses outside the city centre at the earliest,” said R Hithendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic),city.The proposal, sent on Saturday, cites that the transport, urban development and home departments have proposed for a joint initiative involving the KSRTC,, BMRCL and the directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).In this, the city would follow a traffic model that puts the Metro as the primary mode of travel while others work as feeder services wherever possible.It has also proposed that the BMTC should come up with its own transport hubs to ensure feeder network at all major Metro stations on the Phase 1 line.Further, it spoke about the revival and optimal use of satellite bus stations inand— and an additional facility on Kanakapura Road — as a possible solution to traffic congestion in the city.“We have had discussions with private bus owners and they have expressed their willingness to operate from designated spots on the outskirts,” Hitendra added.The(KSRTC) welcomed the proposal but clearly stated that private buses should also not be allowed to enter the city.“If private buses are allowed to ply up to Majestic and KSRTC is asked to terminate at Peenya, it would affect our collections,” said KS Vishwanath, General Manager (Traffic), KSRTC.The KSRTC officials, however, pointed out that terminating all long-distance buses at Peenya was tested during the Global Investors’ Meet last year, but it was rolled back due to lack of proper facilities, and also alleged pressure from the private bus lobby.“As of now, about 800 KSRTC buses use the facility on a daily basis but we get only about 100 passengers there, which is not feasible. Passengers prefer to have one bus all the way to Majestic,” Vishwanath added.The KSRTC‘sfacility is about 1.5 km from the main road. Buses plying on the stretch, especially from places like Kolar, started bypassing the terminus as they had to move through the congested stretch, which resulted in increased trip time, which passengers didn’t like. They also claimed that there was initially a proposal to develop Baiyappanahalli as a mini-integrated transport hub with the BMRCL, KSRTC and Railways’ involvement, but it was shelved due to problems with and allocation.“Why should anyone sit inside the bus inching along the traffic to reach Old Madras Road for 30 or 45 minutes when they could just board a private bus and reach their destination quicker,” Vishwanath asked. The KSRTC officials claimed that there was no land available at the moment for constructing a transport hub on Kanakapura Road. They also pointed out that it was not a busy route, compared with Tumakuru and Hosur Road.The traffic police, however, admitted that policymakers will have to come up with a robust integrated feeder system along the Metro stretch to ensure the success of the de-congestion plan.“It has to be well-connected and comfortable for users,” Hithendra added.After an initial meeting of KSRTC and BMTC officials on Wednesday, it has been decided to deploy two feeder buses betweenand Basaveshwara Bus Terminus by Friday. Though the proposal looked good on paper, officials said implantation would take time.An ideal spot of land has to be identified for private bus terminus outside the city. A suggested patch of land is a 5-acre plot nearnear the Tumakuru and NICE road junction. Vasant Murthy, a resident of Peenya, said: “The Peenya satellite bus station is a huge facility that is under-utilised. The idea of parking long-distance buses may sound good but is difficult to move from Peenya satellite bus station to other parts. Even the Metro station is a kilometre away. I don’t think this proposal will work.”